In 2013, I had the fortunate experience of serving as a mentor at my prior organization. The mentor program was a leadership development program within the company and I was asked to serve as a mentor to an employee in another department to help them see a different side of the organization. One aspect of this program included a panel discussion day where three mentors hosted a talk, answered questions, discussed their careers and, if asked, gave advice to the group of mentees, which totaled about 40 total audience members. I was told following the session that people felt they had gotten a lot of great insight from the discussion, but it’s important to note that serving as a mentor and sitting on this panel was also personally rewarding for me. I took pages of notes during the process that I still refer to today.
One of the questions that sticks with me to this day from this panel discussion was, “If you had to sum up your professional beliefs on a bumper sticker, what would it say?” As basic as it was, I didn’t answer the question. I told the group, which included mentees, other mentors, and various leaders within my organization, that I couldn’t think of anything just then that summed up my beliefs so succinctly. I think that was the truth, but I also honestly had no idea what to say in that moment. Having now spent nearly ten years with two large financial firms and in my capacity at The CP Journal, I have an answer that I feel confident in.
Take Blame, Give Credit.
In my personal and professional experiences leading me to where I am today I have found only a couple of constants. One of the few things that I have noticed regardless of the organizations I have been a part of is that the people I most respect personally and professionally almost always take blame and give credit. What I mean by that in the most basic terms is that when something is going well, these people will use the opportunity to point out how the work of someone else contributed to that success. On the flip side, when something goes wrong, they are quick to accept that they were responsible for it, are ready to outline the steps to solving the problem, and are committed to seeing it resolved.
By taking blame and giving credit you can accomplish multiple things in your organization all at the same time:
- Stand Out: I could probably argue that your organization is starving for someone to take blame. That person is a rare find these days. Organizations are struggling with accountability. People rarely want to take any accountability and, thus, decisions suffer. By serving as someone that the organization knows they can count on when things aren’t going well you will position yourself as a person of trust that is committed to the future success of the organization.
- Gain Support: There is no better way to show your team, either as a teammate or as a leader, that you are on their side than by taking the blame when things go badly. Instead of pointing a finger, accept that blame and stop the ball from continuing to roll downhill. You will find that the consequences of taking the blame aren’t as bad as you thought they would be and, in the process, you will create advocates.
- Help Others: By giving credit away for your successes and those of your team you will help other people get recognition and advance their own careers. It is rare for one person to get so much individual recognition that they transform an organization. You will need a team to achieve success as an organization, and through this success you will see faster and greater career growth for yourself. By ensuring that your team and teammates are recognized, the rest of the organization will realize how valuable your group is, not just one individual. That’s when real progress happens.
By establishing yourself within your organization as someone who accepts accountability you will stand out, gain support from others, and help the career development of the people around you. I have had the opportunity to work with many different types of people and have found that the most rewarding relationships in my personal and professional lives are with those that take blame and give credit.
To see this mantra play out in a real world example, check out this recent instance in the news of a Burger King franchise owner shunning personal credit and recognizing his team for their role in their organizational success.
2 comments
Randy
March 18, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Jonathan, another excellent post. I agree with you-organizations are in great need of people who take responsibility for their actions, accept responsibility, and acknowledge errors. Unfortunately the culture has come to a point where this is shunned in many cases. Don Vandergriff (Maj., USA-Ret.) has written extensively on the problem within the Army, one in which an error along an officers career can spell the end. That is unfortunate because no one performs flawlessly day after day, year after year. When one knows a mistake has career ending consequences, they are less likely to be responsible, less likely to be creative and innovative instead opting to stay within the check boxes. As a young USMC NCO I was told, “Know your job, know your Marines, and take care of your Marines.” Leadership training obviously went much deeper than this, but it was a quick and easy list to make sure you were working in the right direction. Failing to watch out for those under you is something that gets to be known quickly and the word spreads. Efficiency and effectiveness suffer because they also stay within “the box” where things are much safer. Mentors need to teach that errors need to be kept to a minimum, but they are expected as well. The key is that once they happen a thorough debrief is conducted to find root causes and to improve. Debriefs need to be conducted even when things appear to have gone smoothly. A little digging will likely show some issues that could use attention.
/Randy
wendy6483
March 23, 2015 at 10:18 am
This is an article for everyone to read. Especially leaders, and future leaders. Many people have the makings of a high powered job. A career that pays a great deal of money. A position that involves managing people etc..Without catching someone doing something right, as opposed to waiting for them to make an error, or taking blame when you are wrong; you will lose as a leader every time. Your team loses respect. They stop being confidants, and remain constituents. In fact, they may become comrades because they are emulating poor leadership. * “Treat people the way you want to be treated.”
* Vince Lombardi