Could You Be The Problem?

Problem: Internal auditors are experts at finding problems — in others. Not so much in ourselves. Consequently, internal auditors sometimes find themselves in the middle of conflicts with internal audit managers, co-workers, and auditees, without considering the internal auditor’s role in the conflict.

Solution: The first step in problem identification, and ultimately in problem resolution, is to look at all perspectives and options.

We need to consider all options whenever we look at a problem or challenge. That includes having a reality check about your potential role in the problem.

Don’t be so quick to dismiss it. Let’s face it. Many times, a day, a week, or years after some incident, we look back on it with fresh perspective and sometimes see that we could have handled something differently. Since that’s a given, it would be negligent and even foolish to NOT apply that same concept to your current situation.

Perhaps the most important takeaway from this lesson is self-awareness. 

And not just the potential lack of self-awareness of the person in question, but in yourself.

For example, is it possible that YOU are a difficult person and bring out the worst in others?

I don’t expect you to admit it. People rarely see themselves. But let me encourage you to be the rare exception, and objectively approach the answer to that question.

Start thinking about how you interact with people. Start dissecting your behaviors, your tone, your choice of words, and so on. Think about a recent conflict or two. Ask yourself:

· Do you have an opinion about everything?

· Are you always right?

· Are you argumentative?

· Can anyone interpret you as being any of those things?

· Are you condescending?

· Do you take shots at other people?

· Do you put others down either in front of them or behind their backs?

· Do gossip about other people?

· Do you play stupid political games?

· Do try and screw other people, just because you feel you were slighted in some way?

· Do you accept responsibility for your role in things or is it always someone else’s fault?

· Are you often in a bad mood or do you appear surly to others?

· Do you micro-manage people under you?

· Do you sometimes micro-manage and other times not? In other words, people never know what you want.

· Do you act like you know what you want, but don’t really?

If you answered ‘no’ to all of these questions, you ARE probably a difficult person. You just don’t see yourself or are afraid to admit it. In other words, almost all of us engage in one or more of these behaviors at some time or another.

If you answered ‘yes’ to several of these questions, you ARE probably a difficult person. You might not be a difficult to everyone, all of the time, but a difficult person, nevertheless.

Very, very rarely is someone always fair, nice, not judgmental, supportive, and so on. One in ten people may be like that. Actually , it’s probably more like one in one hundred.

Bottom line: for every challenge or conflict with your manager, co-worker, or auditee, start by considering your role in that conflict. 

Could you have handled it differently? 

Could you have de-escalated? Translated to internal auditor: do you have some role, no matter how minor, in the root cause of the conflict? Hint: the answer is almost always ‘yes’. We could almost always have handled this differently or better. 

Now that we’ve come to this awareness with the current conflict, we can better understand how to resolve it.

Check out our Newsletter “Secrets of Millionaire Internal Auditors — Mastering the Game of Internal Auditing & Getting Rich While Doing It” for street-smarts, in-the-trenches internal auditing hacks, techniques and strategies that you won’t get anywhere else.