We’ve all witnessed this scenario play out at some point.
Someone at or near the top of an organization gets called out for a failure of duty. Perhaps an event that didn’t play out as expected or a situation that wasn’t clearly communicated or handled appropriately.
So what does the leader then do? Do they take the heat and own the failings of their organization? Do they raise their hand and accept responsibility in the moment?
Nope. They blame their deputy or someone else on their team.
It happens in government, in large companies, and in venture-backed startups.
And unfortunately this behavior is becoming normalized. Young people watch it and conclude that’s simply how leaders lead.
In light of this, it might be helpful to lay out a few bullets on how a leader should actually lead.
Leaders work with their team members to define a vision for their organization, and they then support their team members in devising and executing on a plan for achieving that vision.
Leaders define what success looks like and, in turn, what accountability and responsibility mean within their organization.
Leaders communicate in a 360-degree manner, and they do so as transparently as possible.
Leaders don’t blame others when things go wrong. They take responsibility for failure and they hold themselves accountable. They don’t throw their team members under the bus. Ever. Period.
Leaders fail and when they do they take responsibility. They may have internal conversations with teammates about where accountability came up short. They may even make hard decisions and changes, but they never point the finger in public.
Leaders know what the term “the buck stops here” means, and they live it every day.
Leaders succeed, and when they do they shine the light on others, working hard to identify every teammate that contributed to the win. Leaders don’t say “I” or “me” when the team wins. They only say “I” or “me” when the team loses.
It’s easy to reserve the word leader for the titles at the top of the org chart. But leaders show up at every level of a company, in every functional area, and every day in for-profit companies, nonprofits, government roles, schools, churches, and any other community you can think of.
Leaders are defined in an organization by the things they do, and the things they don’t do. And it may very well be that the one trait that you find consistently with every real leader is that they don’t blame others when things go wrong.
Perhaps, those who do blame others when they themselves have failed shouldn’t be called leaders?
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