This Workplace Behavior Makes You Look Incompetent. Are You Doing It?
Earlier this month, former and future first lady Melania Trump gave an interview with “Fox & Friends” where she appeared to blame the Obama administration for making the 2017 transition process “challenging.”
“The information was withheld from us by the previous administration,” she said.
It’s not the first time Trump has pointed a finger to shift the blame for something. Back in 2016, when she addressed the Republican National Convention, she made headlines when her remarks appeared to include a number of lines plagiarized from an earlier speech by Michelle Obama.
In her 2024 memoir “Melania,” Trump characterized her plagiarism scandal as a “betrayal” by her campaign team, and singled out staffer Meredith McIver, who ultimately took the blame for the incident.
“Discovering the team’s failure to perform their duty filled me with a profound sense of betrayal,” she wrote in “Melania.” “These were professionals, charged with ensuring the success of our campaign, yet they failed to implement even the most fundamental safeguard.”
The incoming first lady’s response exemplifies an all-too-common workplace behavior: throwing someone under the bus.
“When Melania pointed to a single staffer, the campaign appeared to deflect responsibility away from from her and other senior leaders,” executive career coach Elizabeth Pearson told HuffPost. “This strategy may have shielded Melania Trump from immediate fallout ― but made the campaign look disorganized and prone to scapegoating.”
She noted that this response also places a disproportionate share of the blame on a subordinate, which only gives the impression of a lack of leadership accountability.
“In my opinion, she would have fared much better if she’d just said, ‘We messed up,’” Pearson said. “Maybe leaders could dodge a lot of drama if they’d get comfortable saying those three words.”
Indeed, career experts warn that throwing someone under the bus often backfires by causing bigger problems and making the thrower look even more incompetent. Here’s what you should know.
What does it mean to throw people under the bus at work? Why does it happen?
“Throwing someone under the bus at work essentially means assigning blame for a mistake or failure to someone else, often unfairly, so you can avoid personal accountability or other negative consequences,” explained Keith Spencer, a career expert with Resume Now.
He noted that people typically choose to shift blame like this as a self-preservation tactic to protect their own reputation, or to gain favor with influential colleagues.
“Basically, it’s sacrificing someone else to protect yourself or look good to your boss or client,” Pearson said. “It can happen when someone feels personally threatened by a co-worker, or when they feel insecure in their role and want to try and ensure they stick around.”
A toxic work culture can lead people to prioritize self-preservation over teamwork, and in some environments it can even be encouraged.Rob Phelps, career expert, Social Media Jobs
Indeed, the strategy is often a fear response or survival instinct born of a desire to keep your job.
“Throwing someone under the bus at work feels like stepping into the Hunger Games, with workplace tasks as the weapons,” said Jasmine Escalera, a career expert with the resume resource Zety.
In addition to avoiding negative repercussions for individual or team failures, someone who does this might be motivated by their ambition to climb the corporate ladder. With that focus, they try to “appear flawless by diminishing others’ competence,” Escalera noted.
This phenomenon is more common in high-pressure workplaces and company cultures that incentivize extreme competitiveness.
“A toxic work culture can lead people to prioritize self-preservation over teamwork, and in some environments it can even be encouraged,” said Rob Phelps, a career expert with the platform Social Media Jobs.
He shared another high-profile example of this kind of behavior: the sprawling British Post Office scandal.
“Postmasters were wrongfully accused of the financial losses that were actually caused by a faulty IT system, which lead to prosecutions and severe personal consequences for those accused,” Phelps said, adding that the leaders of the postal service tried to shift blame to the leaders of the IT supplier and vice versa. “This lack of transparency and accountability led to one of the most memorable miscarriages of justice in recent U.K. history.”
Career coach Laura Nguyen offered the example of the Boeing 737 MAX crisis, in which two plane crashes led to the deaths of 346 people.
“Initially, Boeing blamed pilot error and insufficient training by airlines, rather than acknowledging flaws in its MCAS software,” she explained. “This deflection was widely criticized, and later investigations revealed systemic problems within Boeing’s safety culture and processes... leading to significant reputational damage and financial consequences.”
Throwing colleagues and employees under the bus only causes even bigger problems.
“While it’s a natural instinct to want to protect oneself, this behavior can harm one’s reputation and career in the long run,” said career coach Becca Carnahan. “When someone makes a habit of shifting blame or throwing their colleagues under the bus, it undermines trust and signals an unwillingness to take responsibility or work collaboratively.”
This strategy can damage professional relationships and team dynamics, contributing to a hostile work environment.
“When a colleague throws a peer under the bus, they are not only damaging their reputation, but their team’s reputation as well,” said career coach Emily Worden. “Now the team turns into competitors instead of collaborators. Now there’s mistrust and limited communication. And this is how teamwork and productivity suffer.”
She pointed to Google’s Project Aristotle study, which found that psychological safety is the most important factor in team performance.
Although the inclination to throw a colleague under the bus may stem from competition and fear, Carnahan noted that it also can be the result of already poor communication.
“Instead of engaging in the blame game, co-workers should see such moments as opportunities to identify what went wrong and collaborate on solutions,” she said. “Effective communication and teamwork are vital to avoiding conflicts and achieving shared goals.”
Rather than scapegoating a co-worker when something goes wrong, teammates can embrace shared accountability and try to address issues proactively. If direct communication with your peers isn’t working, then try talking to your manager.
“For example, someone isn’t meeting their deadlines, and it’s impacting the rest of the team,” Nguyen said. “The manager’s role is to step in and address the behavior.”
Managers should also know that throwing their employees under the bus is particularly damaging, as it diminishes their sense of integrity and loyalty. The experts who spoke to HuffPost emphasized that this behavior signals poor leadership.
“It’s like the captain abandoning ship before anyone else has a chance to reach the lifeboats,” Escalera said.
Still, distancing yourself from a mistake can be a strategic move in some cases, Nguyen noted.
“The truth is, leaders often face intense scrutiny, and their ability to survive politically requires knowing which battles to fight and how to navigate those complex dynamics,” she said. “While we may question the ethics of this behavior, there’s a reason blame-shifting persists in competitive environments: It can protect careers, particularly in organizations where outcomes are valued over processes.”
But the long-term implications for the organization as a whole are negative. In a culture where throwing people under the bus is common, there’s a greater risk of low morale, resentment, lack of motivation and higher turnover rates.
“If a manager does this, they have no place being a manager,” Worden said. “A good manager is supposed to mentor, inspire, and instill trust in their employees. They are supposed to encourage honesty, growth, and the ability to learn from mistakes. This is the opposite of throwing someone under the bus.”
It can also backfire by making you look incompetent.
“Throwing someone under the bus often ends up undermining your own credibility, causing others to doubt your competence,” Spencer said. “People could end up perceiving this behavior as a lack of teamwork, problem-solving skills, or confidence. It could even be viewed as compensation for other weaknesses, further eroding trust in your ability to competently perform your job.”
He added that people who regularly engage in this kind of behavior often find themselves increasingly isolated from others at work, with fewer opportunities for collaboration and advancement.
True professionals, whether employees or leaders, focus on finding solutions and fostering accountability ― not pointing fingers.Jasmine Escalera, career expert, Zety
“Think about the kid in class who always complained,” Nguyen said. “They become the one people avoid.”
Even if you are technically skilled at your job, throwing colleagues or employees under the bus reveals a lack of self-awareness, emotional intelligence and critical thinking skills ― which is not a recipe for career success.
“Instead of addressing the issue, it shows an inability to handle constructive criticism or pressure,” Escalera said. “True professionals, whether employees or leaders, focus on finding solutions and fostering accountability ― not pointing fingers.”
Besides indicating incompetence, the tendency to shift blame to others can also signal low confidence, untrustworthiness or even narcissism.
“Throwing someone under the bus is not just about avoiding punishment or responsibility,” Worden said. “It can also be used to cover up a deeper sense of failure, a failure to live up to your own expectations or the expectations of others. And sometimes it is easier to blame others than face your own personal disappointments and failures ― a narcissist’s nightmare.”
Accountability doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it’s crucial.
“A manager is ultimately responsible for the output of their team, including mistakes, because their role involves overseeing workflows, supporting team members and ensuring collective success,” Spencer noted.
Taking ownership of good and bad outcomes alike is a crucial part of management.
“As a leader, it ends with you,” Worden noted. “You are the last stop for accountability. The buck stops here.”
She emphasized that the manager doesn’t have accept direct blame for the mistake, but they should take accountability for the fact that the failure happened under their watch.
“When a leader acknowledges missteps and says ‘I take responsibility and am committed to making this right with the support of my team,’ it builds trust [and] camaraderie, and transforms mistakes into learning opportunities,” Escalera said. “For leaders, modeling this level of professional maturity demonstrates true leadership and inspires their team to do the same.”
The goal is to encourage growth and cultivate a culture of mutual support and integrity. This in turn boosts morale.
“But taking responsibility for mistakes that weren’t their fault doesn’t mean they condone bad performance, or are shielding offenders from punishment,” Phelps noted. “They take on the responsibility while still finding solutions to the problems, and helping the team learn from their mistakes and grow.”
That postmortem step is just as important to the process. Carnahan recommends analyzing what went wrong and identifying gaps in communication or resources.
“A balanced approach involves acknowledging mistakes, facilitating open dialogue, and implementing changes to prevent future issues, all without assigning blame unnecessarily,” she said.
Keep in mind that there’s a difference between holding an individual accountable for bad actions and throwing someone under the bus. Good management is not about letting poor performance and mistakes slide.
“The difference is the motive in the message and how the situation is handled,” Nguyen said. “A good leader will protect the broader team, and address the problem in private with the employee. Low performers and toxic team members need to be held accountable for their actions.”
