27. Take More Blame. Accept Less Credit.

The vast majority of the lessons I have learned and shared in this series have presented themselves to me in the positive – something I saw in action and made it a point to emulate, borrow, and add to my leadership mosaic.?However, and unfortunately, there have been lessons learned from the other side of the spectrum – something I witnessed that caused me to go in the opposite direction and intentionally chose not to emulate.?With this 27th lesson shared; I have experienced both sides of this spectrum and both have shaped me.

It is often said that character is revealed when pressure is applied.?As it relates to leadership, I believe the true essence of one’s leadership potential is uncovered in both challenging and celebratory situations.?I have found that there is a direct correlation in the strength of a leader and the amount of blame a leader is willing to accept when the chips are down.?Similarly, yet in the converse, the amount of credit a leader is willing to accept when things are going well and the strength of that same leader are correlated.?As a leader, it is incumbent upon you to take more of the blame and accept less of the credit.

I have witnessed countless situations in my career that speak to the humility of a leader and their willingness to pass along the credit to their teams.?I have been blessed to work with a great number of leaders that demonstrated this on a consistent basis – Tom Schmitz, Joe Bialek, Bryan Doyle, Chris Gardner, and the list goes on and on.?Each of those situations have helped positively shape my approach to leadership.?However, as I noted the onset of this post, although far more infrequent, I have witnessed the unfortunate passing of blame from a leader and it has similarly shaped me into knowing what not to do when things don’t go as planned.?

There are two clear examples of leadership in trying times that stand out for me – one serves as a vivid memory of how not to lead and the other as an example of leadership at its finest.?The unfortunate example happened within a business unit to which I was loosely connected.?This business unit was charged with servicing an incredibly challenging and demanding client – a client that had a history of being unreasonable and, at times, unprofessional.?There were constant fires with this client and the relationship was always on the rocks.?I can’t recall the exact situation, but there came a time when the client noise hit a decibel level that attracted the attention of firm leadership at the highest levels.?The leader of this business unit to which the client was assigned was appropriately asked to step in and help right the ship, which they did.?However, when the business leaders asked for a summary of what the issues were and how things got back on track, this particular leader accepted far too much credit for the resolution and not nearly enough blame for the initial challenges.?The outcome was unfortunate on many levels – the leader was too focused on self-promotion at the cost of blaming others and, in doing so, lost the long-term respect of those they led.?

The positive example of leadership in trying times comes from a personal memory associated with one of my life’s heroes -- my late grandfather, Capt. George S James, Jr (USN).??My grandfather was a US Naval Academy graduate, a gifted naval aviator, and had commanded several ships in the Pacific Fleet.?He was on the fast track to make the rank of Admiral when a ship that was under his command had an accident when a signalman failed to communicate with a nearby ship.?It was an incredibly unfortunate situation, but one where he assumed full responsibility.?Was he on the deck that evening in charge of relaying signals??No.?Was he personally responsible for the accident??No.?However, he clearly understood that the buck stopped with him and he assumed the blame, even if that meant his promotion to Admiral might be impeded.?

Candidly, the above situation happens every day in the military – where an officer understands that anything that happens within their command is their responsibility.?It is the nature of a strict Chain of Command structure.?However, the lesson learned from this situation was not that my grandfather accepted the blame, but rather how he accepted it.?Until the day he died, he never uttered a negative word about that accepted blame nor did he attempt to deflect it.?He didn’t stew over it.?He didn’t run away from it.?He owned it – all while understanding it might limit his advancement.?

As a leader, you must sign a Leadership Declaration of Interdependence with the teams you lead.?You are only as good as those that support you and any success you may achieve should be directly and immediately transferred to them.?You and they are inextricably linked, and you should never lose sight of this.?You cannot succeed without them and you will most certainly fail without them.?

In my 30+ years, I have determined that one of the quickest way for a leader to lose the respect of those they lead is to accept more of the credit and less of the blame.