Who Is Tired Of Leaders Playing The Blame Game?

Attn: All leaders. And I mean all. Stop the blame game. We are teaching our future generations the worst way to lead...to blame. Here's why:

It gives away your power to solve the problem

Once you start to point the finger, not only have you diverted yourself from finding a solution but by making someone else the source of the problem you are also making them the source of the solution too. When we say this is your fault, we are effectively telling them they need to fix this. We are absolving ourselves of blame and saying this is not our fault, not our problem to solve. When we give up ownership of the problem, we also give up ownership of searching for the solution.

Effective leaders take ownership of the problem looking to solve it first.

Creates a toxic environment

When a leader looks to blame people it actually gives others the green light to blame too, and it doesn’t take long for a blame culture to become the norm within the organization. Isn't that the norm of politics in America today? Is that trickling down into our everyday lives?

Good leaders not only don’t point the finger the are quick to stop others from doing this.

Leads to employee disengagement

In a blame culture, people become afraid of making mistakes in case they get called out, or the fingers start pointing in their direction. The best way to avoid being blamed, either fairly or unfairly, is to do the absolute minimum, don’t volunteer, don’t get involved and certainly don’t look to take ownership. All of which lead to employees becoming disengaged. Any guess why good leaders don't want to go into politics anymore?

Reduces productivity

In a blame culture, people need to ensure that if things do go wrong that it won’t come back to them. This approach dilutes their work efforts because, in addition to doing their tasks, they also need to spend time covering their ass, and that effort reduces their effectiveness and productivity. Any guesses why we never really solve anything anymore in America?

Reduces your effectiveness to lead

When leaders are quick to blame it erodes the trust that the team has in their leader. Leaders are supposed to provide support to their teams, a safe environment and nurture the talents, and blaming others, especially when they are not at fault is an anathema to that. Trust is the cornerstone of leadership and anything that erodes trust erodes your effectiveness as a leader.

Great leaders defend their teams and they take more of the blame because they know that leaders are accountable for the results.

We are in trying times right now and nobody ever does a TV interview and says, "I'm at fault!" or "It's on me!". I'm just tired of what feels like a decade of reading the blame game in the headlines, so I thought I'd share. I'm going to do what i can to take responsibility, take action, and try to be a true servant to improve the lives of others around me. Remember, attitude reflects leadership. What will our future leaders do and what can you do today?

?Ted Jenkin is a frequent guest columnist for the Wall Street Journal and Headline News Weekend Express.?He is the co-Founder of Exit Stage Left Advisors.?You can follow him on?instagram @therealtedjenkin or here on LinkedIn.