Most people are chained to two heavy suitcases

Are you carrying extra baggage around?

When I was in my early 20's, the keynote speaker at a massive conference delivered this POWERFUL MESSAGE:

"Most people drag two HEAVY suitcases behind them every day. They are the suitcases filled with BLAME and EXCUSES."

My mind was blown.

The keynote speaker explained countless examples of how BLAME and EXCUSES hold people back from success and greatness.

• Blame Defined: Assign responsibility for a fault or wrong.
• Excuses Defined: Reasons you give to defend your behavior.

Here's some ways that blame shows up in the real world:

• Victim Mentality: When people perceive themselves helpless and at the mercy of circumstances.
• Someone else's fault: When people find someone else responsible instead of finding solutions to their own problems.
• Lack of Self-Awareness: When people fail to recognize their own shortcomings, weaknesses, or mistakes.

Here's some ways that excuses show up in the real world:

• Procrastination: When people delay or postpone action.
• Stagnation: When people are complacent even if they know they are falling behind.
• Claiming Ignorance: When people use the excuse that they "Didn't Know".

How much energy and time do you spend in the above categories? How about the people around you... do they drag along the crushing weight of BLAME and EXCUSES?

And what does this have to do with Growth, Learning, and Professional Development?

I'm happy you asked!

Lets get into today's action:

CULTIVATE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE WORKPLACE

When we focus on blame and excuses, we are directing our energy and attention to external circumstances.

And believe me, some people WASTE a TON of energy on Blame and Excuses.

Now, maybe once in a while, there are legitimate external circumstances (or people) that can derail our growth, learning, and professional development. But even then, we can control how we personally respond and react to these circumstances.

We as leaders need to inspire people to cultivate personal responsibility in the workplace.

In my experience, here are the TOP 3 ways to help your team break the chains of blame and excuses:

1. Lead By Example: If you've noticed in all of my previous articles, I believe it is paramount for us as leaders to walk the talk. We cannot expect our teams to grow if we ourselves are blaming external circumstances and giving excuses every time there is an opportunity for growth.
2. Set Clear Expectations: If there is no plan, you can't expect people to grow on their own. Take the time to build a Growth Action Plan with your team members. When individuals see the value in their own growth, they are more likely to take responsibility for their development.
3. Recognize and reward accountability: Show appreciation and gratitude for individuals that demonstrate personal responsibility. This can be shown through verbal recognition, team-wide events, incentives, promotions, awards, and career advancement opportunities.

It is our responsibility as leaders to help our team members break the heavy chains of Blame and Excuses. If we don't, these debilitating chains will continue to become stronger over time and decrease the morale, self-worth, and productivity of your team. Lead by example and build a strong culture of growth and learning in the workplace.

ACTION TIME:

1. Take notice of all of the times you are actually using blame and excuses in the workplace yourself. Notice how it is wasting time and energy. Awareness is always the first step.
2. Take notice of all the times your team members are using blame and excuses in the workplace.
3. Break the chains by setting clear expectations for growth with each individual on your team, and accelerate the results through incentives and recognition.

Thanks for taking a moment today to read through this article. I've personally gone through a ton of work myself to get rid of as much blame and excuses in my life as possible over the last 20 years, and consider Personal Responsibility one of my top Core Values. I promise the ROI is there. Thank you for insights and feedback, and I look forward to continuing to add value to you and your teams week after week.

Your Friend,

Dan