Fixing blame doesn't fix
"Fix the problem, not the blame." Joseph T. Hallinan
What do you do when things go wrong? Do you stomp around angry and ranting? Do you fall silent in disappointment or silent anger? Do you turn your back and attempt to ignore what went wrong? Do you look for a person or people to blame? If this is your approach, you're fixing nothing. I would submit you are only fostering failure.
A leader's job is to problem solve, to grow their people and teams and to prevent future failure. Indeed, it is important to determine the root causes of failures - what happened, why it happened, and who was responsible. And, when you discover malice, it is your responsibility to address it. Malevolence unaddressed will have lasting negative impacts on your organization and its people. I have several methods for dealing with malevolence. Reach out to me today for some coaching.
What I discover 99% of the time is human error. A person may have rushed through something, failed to communicate with his or her teammates or became overconfident, or even complacent. Moreover, teammates may have failed to step in when they sensed failure. This is all human. In my small business all individuals, even I, have made mistakes. When it is I who has failed, I accept full responsibility. No person or team is perfect.
The human ego desires to fix or shift blame. It is a defensive mechanism and it is a leader's job to counter it. Left unattended or un-led teams may deflect responsibility or blame and end up solving nothing. When things go wrong in my team, I ask pointed questions stating that my intent is to learn and grow. Through our conversations, I'll listen intently to hear stories of what happened and why it happened but I will press my people for lessons. "What is the lesson or lessons here?" "What can we (note the team versus the individual approach) do to prevent this next time?" I focus not on fixing blame, I focus on fixing the problem and developing my people.
I do expect and espouse ownership. Those who want to offer excuses or refuse to accept ownership will get more of my time. If, through my coaching, they cannot understand and embrace personal responsibility, I vote them off the island. I do this for the sake of our cause, mission, and for their teammates.
Don't fix blame, fix what went wrong. Promote personal responsibility and ownership but focus on how individuals and teams can learn and grow from failure.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell