Helping Employees Shift from Justification to Responsibility
When something goes wrong at work, explanations usually follow. “I couldn’t finish because the customer kept changing the requirements.”; “The information came in too late.”; “I was waiting for another department to respond.”. These may be genuine reasons.
Customers do change their requirements, information does arrive late, and employees often depend on others to complete their work. The concern begins when explaining what happened becomes the end of the conversation.
An employee may have a valid reason for missing a deadline, yet there may still be opportunities to communicate earlier, seek support, adjust priorities or agree on a different course of action. For managers, the challenge is helping employees recognise these opportunities without dismissing the difficulties they face. This is where coaching can make a difference.
Recognising Justification in Employees
Justification becomes a concern when employees repeatedly use circumstances to explain their performance without examining their own decisions or actions. It may appear during performance reviews, project discussions or routine conversations about unfinished work. Three patterns are worth paying attention to:
1. Repeated explanations without follow-through
An employee explains why a task could not be completed, but the same issue continues to occur. For example, a salesperson repeatedly attributes missed customer appointments to last-minute scheduling changes. Yet there is little evidence of earlier confirmation, alternative arrangements or improved planning. The explanation may be reasonable on each occasion. The recurring pattern deserves a closer look.
2. Responsibility is consistently placed elsewhere
Some employees focus heavily on what colleagues, customers or other departments failed to do. Statements such as “They never gave me the information” or “Nobody told me” may point to genuine communication problems. However, managers should also explore whether the employee followed up, raised concerns or clarified what was needed.
3. Problems are reported without proposed next steps
An employee brings an issue to the manager but waits for the manager to decide what happens next. This is particularly noticeable when the employee has enough experience or authority to explore possible options. Of course, not every problem can be resolved independently. Some situations require management decisions, additional resources or cooperation from other teams. The manager’s task is to establish what the employee can reasonably influence.
A word of caution: Body language, tone of voice or a defensive response alone cannot establish that someone is making excuses. Employees may be frustrated, concerned about consequences or genuinely uncertain about their authority. Look for repeated behaviour and understand the circumstances before drawing conclusions.
Why Responsibility Matters
Responsibility means being willing to account for one’s decisions, actions and commitments. In the workplace, it also means recognising when a situation needs attention and taking appropriate steps to address it.
Consider two responses to the same problem. A Sales Executive discovers that a customer’s delivery may be delayed.
The first response is: “The warehouse hasn’t confirmed the stock. There’s nothing I can do.”.
The second response is: “The warehouse hasn’t confirmed the stock. I’ve followed up with the team and will update the customer by 3 pm. If the stock is unavailable, I’ll discuss the alternatives with my manager.”
Both employees face the same constraint. The difference lies in how they respond to it. The second employee has identified actions within their control while recognising that some decisions may require support. This is the behaviour managers should encourage.
What changes when employees take responsibility?
Greater reliability: Employees communicate concerns early, honour their commitments and keep others informed when circumstances change.
Better problem-solving: Employees begin considering possible responses instead of waiting for every answer to come from their manager.
Stronger working relationships: Colleagues and customers know what to expect because responsibilities, updates and next steps are clearer.
Responsibility does not mean employees must solve every problem alone. It means they remain engaged in finding a way forward, including asking for help when necessary.
Coaching Employees from Justification to Responsibility
Managers sometimes respond to repeated explanations by becoming more directive. They tell employees what should have been done, remind them of expectations or warn them against making excuses. While clear expectations are necessary, repeated instructions may do little to change how employees approach future difficulties.
A coaching conversation allows managers to examine the situation with the employee and encourage greater ownership. Here are three practical approaches:
1. Understand the Explanation Before Challenging It
When an employee offers a reason for an unfinished task, begin by establishing the facts. Ask what happened, when the difficulty became apparent and how it affected the work. Avoid assuming that the employee is deliberately avoiding responsibility. For example: “I understand that the information arrived later than expected. When did you first realise this would affect the deadline?”
The question helps establish the sequence of events. It may reveal that the employee had little opportunity to respond. Alternatively, it may show that the problem was recognised several days earlier but was never communicated. The manager can then address the actual issue.
2. Explore the Employee’s Choices
Once the circumstances are clear, help the employee examine what was within their influence. A useful question is: “Looking back, what could you have done differently once you realised there was a problem?”. The employee might identify an earlier follow-up, a conversation with another department or a request for support.
If the employee genuinely had no practical alternative, the discussion should turn towards what needs to change in the process, resources or decision-making arrangements. Managers should be prepared to accept that some barriers are organisational rather than individual.
3. Agree on a Clear Commitment
A coaching conversation should lead to a specific next step. Instead of ending with “I’ll try harder next time”, help the employee clarify what they will do, by when and what support is required. For example: “From now on, if a customer requirement puts the delivery date at risk, I’ll inform you and the operations team as soon as I identify the issue. I’ll also agree on an update time with the customer.”
This commitment is easier to follow up because it describes observable actions. At the next discussion, the manager can review whether the employee acted as agreed and what was learnt.
Steps for Developmental Conversations
When justification becomes a recurring pattern, managers can use a simple four-step conversation:
Step 1: Describe the specific concern
Refer to an observable incident rather than labelling the employee. For example: “The last two customer proposals were submitted after the agreed deadlines, and we only discussed the delays after the customers followed up.”. This makes the issue clear without questioning the employee’s character.
Step 2: Listen to the circumstances
Invite the employee to explain what happened. Ask about competing priorities, dependencies and obstacles. Clarify which parts were within the employee’s control and which required support from others. This step matters because responsibility must be matched with realistic authority and resources.
Step 3: Explore alternatives
Ask the employee to identify what could be handled differently. Where necessary, discuss how the manager can remove barriers or provide support. The aim is to develop a more effective response for the next similar situation.
Step 4: Agree and follow up
Confirm the expected behaviour, timeline and responsibilities. Set a suitable time to review progress. If the same problem continues, examine whether the employee has the required skills, support and willingness to meet the agreed expectations. Coaching encourages ownership, but managers still need to manage performance and address unresolved issues.
Coaching Questions to Foster Responsibility
Managers do not need a long list of questions. A few well-chosen questions, asked at the right moment, can lead to a more useful conversation. Here are six to consider:
- “What happened, and what made the situation difficult?”
Understand the facts before making assumptions. - “When did you first realise there might be a problem?”
Explore whether the issue could have been identified or communicated earlier. - “Which parts of the situation were within your control?”
Help the employee distinguish between external constraints and personal decisions. - “What options did you consider at the time?”
Understand the employee’s thinking and decision-making. - “How would you handle it differently if a similar situation happened again?”
Encourage learning from experience. - “What will you do next, and what support do you need?”
Turn the discussion into an agreed commitment.
Managers should choose questions that fit the situation rather than working through all six mechanically. The quality of the conversation matters more than the number of questions asked.
A Practical Workplace Example
Consider a Key Account Executive responsible for preparing a quarterly business review with a major customer. The presentation is incomplete because updated sales figures have not arrived from the finance team. When the Sales Manager asks about the delay, the salesperson explains: “I requested the figures, but finance hasn’t sent them. I can’t finish the presentation without the data.”
The manager acknowledges the dependency and asks when the figures were requested. The salesperson explains that the request was sent the previous week, but there was no further follow-up. The manager then asks: “What could you do now to keep the preparation moving?”. The salesperson identifies three possible actions: contact finance to confirm when the figures will be available, complete the sections that do not depend on the data, and inform the manager if the delay threatens the customer meeting.
The manager also agrees to help resolve the issue if finance cannot provide the information within the required timeframe. They establish a revised preparation schedule and agree to review progress the following day. In this example, the employee’s explanation was valid. The missing information was a genuine obstacle. The coaching discussion helped clarify what could still be done, who was responsible and where management support was needed. The example illustrates how a manager can encourage ownership without overlooking a real operational constraint.
Conclusion
Employees will encounter difficulties that affect their work. Some will be within their control, while others will depend on customers, colleagues, systems or management decisions. A responsible employee should be able to explain those difficulties openly.
What matters is whether the explanation leads to a useful discussion about decisions, actions and next steps. For managers, encouraging responsibility requires a balance of understanding, clear expectations and consistent follow-up. When an employee explains why something could not be done, listen carefully. Establish what happened, explore what could have been handled differently and agree on what happens next.
The next time you hear an explanation for an unfinished task, consider asking: “Given what happened, what can we do from here?”. That question can open a more productive conversation about responsibility and progress.
