Are You Playing The Responsibility Game?

Are You Playing The Responsibility Game?

Leaders take note – the Responsibility Game will ALWAYS win over the Blame Game!

It’s 4:45 on a Friday afternoon, and you just realized that the report promised by your team didn’t get completed and now everyone is gone for the weekend. What do you do?

While most people look for someone else to blame, a leader takes a look in the mirror.

Let me explain.

One of the most important leadership lessons I’ve learned is when something goes wrong to always look in the mirror first. What did I do that might have created this situation? Was everyone clear on the outcome? What could I have done differently to prevent it? Did I set my team up for success? Have I been the role model for the behaviors I want to see from others?

Your team is a reflection of you. Are you willing to accept that level of responsibility? Now, that doesn’t mean that you spend the weekend doing the report. This isn’t the time to play the martyr. It also doesn’t mean you send an email to your boss throwing one of your team members under the bus. What it does mean is you turn the WTF moment into a WTO (What’s the outcome?) moment, and you determine the next appropriate step.

For years I had a post-it note stuck to my computer that said “What did I do to create this?” It allowed me to accept responsibility for the situation and focus on the solution. It showed me what would keep us moving forward, rather than focusing on who to blame. Of course I still held my team accountable. However, when they knew I had their backs, they stepped up and had mine too.

What will change for you and your teams at work, and just as importantly, at home when you have the courage to look in the mirror and ask yourself “What did I do to create this?” It made me a more successful, happier leader, and I’m willing to bet it will do the same for you.

Are you doing everything you know how to do and wondering why it still isn’t working to get you what you want? Let’s hop on a 30-minute free coaching call to see what else is possible. To set it up, email me at barb@high5leadership.com.