Is the "I told you so" dance ever justified?

It's been an interesting week. Mistakes have been made. My cautions, questions and "oh god.. please no"'s were not heeded. And the sticky brown stuff hit the fan.

Hiring Managers, who went "around"/"over" me to enforce their ill fated will, are now left with a poor hire, and that afore mentioned brown stuff on their face. With the laser beam of c-level glare upon them.

I must admit it really annoyed me when my advice went unheeded, yet I still did not take THE opportunity to do the "I told you so dance".

Is there ever a good time? (PS metaphorically please.. me dancing causes no good in this world!)

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris Wessell on May 15, 2009 at 12:31pm

It's every recruiter's fantasy to be able to do that in front of a client, I think... but we must bite our tongues and be diplomatic. OHHHHHH how the temptation boils within me though...

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chris Wessell on May 15, 2009 at 1:11pm

Indeed... avoiding the I Told You So dance, and making lemons out of lemonade like Sandra said, leads to a Search Closed dance... which I one that I am happy to do throughout my entire office and in some cases up and down the street :)

Rayanne said:

I LOVE the "I told you so" dance almost as much as the "search is closed" dance. But, unfortunately, neither one is appropriate except in the privacy of your bedroom or shower (my favorite venue)...
One must always stay above the clutter that comes with the dance. Just keep doing your job and giving the advice/counsel that you know is right. One of the most challenging aspects of managing client/HM relations is the "listening" part. From both sides. Soon enough they will get that you hear them and maybe they will start listening to you - unfortunately, that will not emerge following an "I told you so" dance.