Oh Crap!

In my profession we work together with other local governmental agencies to accomplish certain tasks.  Although some of our missions are generally different, we all have some common over 

arching themes. 

Recently, we had an issue that caused our agencies to overlap with regulatory oversight.  Knowing in advance the issue was going to occur, we reached out ahead of time to the local government.  We proposed a work-around that seemed mutually beneficial.  However, as the date approached, the local government wanted to include our regulatory oversight into their mission.  Which is statutorily legal. 

Here is where the failure occurred.  I was approached by someone in the other agency with whom I had rapport.  They asked for written direction from my agency requesting assistance with our oversight.  Even though the request was approved by upper management, I took ownership on the basis the request was not properly vetted.  I chose not to provide the direction and in turn had to explain to the other agency why.  I had trouble in my explanation to other agency with a valid reason.

Here is what I learned.  I will vet thoroughly any future requests prior to asking upper management to weigh-in.  Although, I know in my position I can’t make the decision for these types of requests, at least I can provide possible ramifications to management depending on the decision. 

In reflection, I do not like failure.  In the past, I have had anxiety about failing courses during my tutelage at the University of Florida. Personally, failure is embarrassing, and causes me to be physically, mentally, and emotionally drained.  I tend to continually think about a situation and then I can do nothing else.  Although I learned a good deal in this course, I don’t know that it will help me overcome the stressors of failure.