Team members are pointing fingers in a crisis. Are you ready to lead them towards collective responsibility?

Antes de qualquer coisa é fundamental separar as pessoas dos problemas. Primeiro devemos entender qual é o verdadeiro problema, sem buscar culpados ou solu??es precipitadas. Sugiro colocar todos "do mesmo lado da mesa" e o problema escrito na parede! O "inimigo" é o problema e n?o quem o causou.

A natural human tendency is to disown one's faults and mistakes. In a group effort, this becomes more prominent since the end result is the outcome of a collective effort and thus pinpointing the real culprit may be difficult. In a crisis situation, the leader must take the ownership for what went wrong. During my career with Union Bank, once a crisis situation arose due to one of my team members who had acted on my instructions but when I was away. Unaware of the fact, everyone in my department blamed him for the situation. On resume my duties I came to know about the happening and I immediately went up to my boss and owned that the fault is mine for giving those instructions to my junior. The crisis was immediately resolved.

Supportive leadership: In a crisis situation, decide what collective leadership means for your team. What do you as a leader need to be more mindful in inspiring responsibility and accountability amongst team members? The leaders of tomorrow are looking to work alongside role models who can listen, empathize, challenge, and inspire. Instead of managers, they’re looking for supportive leaders who can partner with them. Coach and mentor your team through team building activities. Foster connections within your team so they have the opportunity to co-create meaningful development journeys that benefit themselves, their teams, their organizations, the world.

I agree with this. This could be very effective, by acknowledging and validating , team members will be encouraged to open up , talk about their problems and challenges

We faced a serious issue with a software deployment that caused unexpected downtime. The team initially started pointing fingers - developers blamed QA for missing the bug, and QA pointed to unclear requirements. I called a meeting where we focused on understanding the root cause rather than assigning blame. We discovered that miscommunication and incomplete documentation were at fault. By addressing these issues together, we improved our processes and reinforced a culture of shared accountability. This experience showed that working together to solve problems and learn from them is far more effective than placing blame. I’m confident we can apply the same approach to our current situation and strengthen our team’s cohesion.

Open dialogue brings transparency in team players and also brings good ideas and solutions through open dialogue.Open dialogue should be well mannered and into company benefits

Fingers blaming each other impacts the performance of the team and the output of work drastically. Hence you, as a team leader, should address and communicate their concerns through open dialogue and discussions. Facilitate a discussion that allows each team member to voice their perspective without fear of retribution. Make your team understand to be empathetic while listening and considering their colleague's viewpoints. This can help identify the root causes of the crisis and prevent the formation of cliques.

Create an environment where team members feel safe discussing challenges without fear of blame. Facilitate open, honest communication where everyone can express their concerns and ideas. By fostering transparency, you can prevent misunderstandings and ensure that the team is aligned in their efforts to overcome the crisis.

Para que as pessoas efetivamente tenham responsabilidade compartilhada é necessário que existam algumas pontes bem construídas. Sejam elas nas metas e contratos de cada um, ou na rela??o interpessoal de confian?a criada.

Lead your team in an actual sense by emphasising that mistakes are part of the learning process. Make them understand that pointing fingers is not going to solve the problems, the team needs to focus on what can be done now to get the issues sorted out, and that their collaborative efforts and mutual understanding are the only way to get things going. This shift in mindset can transform the aspects from a negative situation to a team with unity and integrity, unlike never before.

Establish that accountability doesn’t mean assigning blame—it means taking responsibility for actions and outcomes. Reinforce the idea that every team member plays a role in both successes and setbacks. Encourage individuals to own their part in the crisis and to work together to find a resolution. This approach builds a sense of shared ownership and strengthens team cohesion.

It is essential to understand the objective and to echo the objective within the team. As a leader, you might have a different version of Vision vs your team member. Making sure they understand the vision, goal, and/or objective just the way you or the business so is very important. In the moment of crisis, speaking 1:1 and in group discussions both prove out to be useful. To eliminate any miscommunication, back your discussion with facts and figures. Behavioural element could play a big role here. People tend to blame when they are insecure if something. Having a discussion to understand individual insecurities can help you as a leader navigate a conflict situation.

Lead your team with an example of collective responsibility by owning up to your part in any issues and by showing support for your team's efforts to resolve the crisis. Your mindset, behaviour, and actions will be reflected in your team to get out of the crisis. Showing compassion and being ready to provide the necessary resources and support to help the team overcome the challenges they face is truly what would keep the needle moving to get out of the crisis-like situations.

Model the behavior you want to see in your team. Take responsibility for your role in the situation, and demonstrate how to approach the crisis constructively. Your actions will set a powerful example, showing that leadership involves owning up to mistakes and working collaboratively to resolve issues.

From my experience, such situations require clear, actionable strategies. First, I immediately address the finger-pointing by reminding the team that blame game won't solve the problem - we need to focus on solutions. I then facilitate a structured discussion where everyone can voice their concerns and contribute ideas, ensuring that each member feels heard and involved. Assigning clear roles and responsibilities for addressing the crisis helps shift the focus from blame to action. Finally, I reinforce the importance of working together as a united team, emphasizing that our success depends on collective responsibility. Follow me for further insights in People Management! Reacting to this contribution will make it reach more people!

Encourage everyone to focus on what can be done to address the crisis rather than who’s at fault. Ask questions like, “What steps can we take to resolve this?” or “How can we prevent this from happening again?” Shifting the narrative to solutions fosters collaboration and helps the team move forward. Solutions derived from such collaboration, even among tense situations, lasts and certainly succeed.

After the crisis has been managed, gather the team to reflect on what happened and what can be learned from it. Discuss what worked, what didn’t, and how the team can improve in the future. This reflection process not only helps the team grow but also reinforces the importance of collective responsibility.