Approval deniability

This is terrible work!
Well the boss signed it off so…
Yeah but who made it?
I did but the boss approved it so you should go talk to him.
…
It’s funny how deniability and responsibility come into play when someone else is approving the work.

If it’s bad you have deniability, if it’s good you can claim responsibility. Best of both worlds really.

The part that troubles me is – are you doing your best work or are you just getting it approved?

Better I think to take responsibility for everything you do. To not hide behind ‘well the boss signed it off’. To be proud to put your name to a piece of work or to own up where you produced sub par work.

This is terrible work!
You think so? I’m actually quite proud of it.

or

This is terrible work!
Yeah I had to cut corners because I was in a rush but I’ve learned my lesson and I know now to allow more time next time.