Why is it that when you are right, you still feel wrong?

Have you ever felt as if you are fighting a losing game? How is it that even when you are right, you still feel wrong?

A case in point was yesterday when my staff was wrongly accused of making a small error which has a huge negative impact on sales. And this error was brought to the attention of the Sales Director.

Now, usually I am not the calculative sort. If an error has been made (be it ours or someone elses), we just identify the problem and seek a solution. I am not much into laying blame or castigating folks on errors. We just live and learn; and ensure we do NOT repeat the same error again.

However, as the year draws to an end and everyone is chasing for sales, such an accusation would put the marketing team in very bad light. And seeing that the error was not even made at our end, I had to clarify the situation, which then put another division in very bad light since the error came from there. It was a tough call to make to write that email as it makes me feel extremely petty. But I had to do it! I tried to lighten the situation by indicating remedial actions for the future. (Am I trying very hard to justify my actions?)

In any case, after the deed was done, I feel absolutely terrible as I work very closely with the manager from the other division. He is a wonderful guy but ... In any case, I called him up to apologise and explain my stand to him. I know that he was not happy but we manage to mend our fences after the call, I hope.

But I still feel wrong. Strange isn't it when in all intents and purposes I am in the right!