To truly be a leader one must be able to take the blame for all that fails and give the credit for all that succeeds.
Is this true? If so, why in the world would anyone want to lead?
You would think that the preference would be to blame others for all that fails and take credit for all that succeeds. The problem is, that doesn’t properly represent leadership, rather it more fittingly represents mediocrity.
Truth be told, most leaders that I have met are not inherently altruistic. This isn’t so much to say that they are all egotistical, credit seeking, front runners; rather a more accurate description is to say that people by nature seek to be recognized. This desire isn’t limited to just leaders or followers, but really everyone.
What the leader must be cognizant of is that recognition comes in many forms. It isn’t always immediate and may not be public, but the recognition of successful leadership may come in no better form than through a strong culture and high levels of achievement.
In order to accomplish this many things need to fall into place, however none more important than the following two:
- Accept Blame: Sometimes as a leader things may not feel like they are your fault. However, you must own everything that your team produces whether success or failure. If your team feels that you will push the blame on them they will resent your leadership. If this resentment turns to fear they may become proverbially paralyzed from taking risks which is extraordinarily damaging to culture.
- Give Credit: This is extraordinarily simple yet it is something I see done so rarely. When things go well, those that notice may tend to give you as the leader credit for the success. Be absolutely certain to genuinely give consideration to all that made it possible. The key to this is it must be genuine. Acting humble and being humble are not the same thing. For those that struggle with hubris; this think of it as deferred recognition. The act of giving the credit to others will generate greater long terms results. Those results will be attributed to you as the leader no matter how humble you may be.
It is not always exciting to take the blame, nor is it always satisfying to give the credit. However, it must be done. AND…if you focus on the bigger picture, the reward will come in the long term.
For a leader there is nothing more rewarding than building a high performance culture that cultivates ideas and growth. This cannot be accomplished in a culture where people fear failure and are denied credit for a job well done.
Daniel,
Love your post for it brings into focus a simple human truth -- people connect through positive feedback. When we engage others with honest communication, the potential is limitless.
When leaders, communicate the positive they also guide on what is important for the organization and engage more of that behavior.
Here is one post that expands on this with:
<a href="http://katenasser.com/leaders-12-worthy-kudos-to-spark-employee-engagement/">12 Worthy Kudos to Spark Employee Engagement</a>
I think @MeghanMBiro and @TalentCulture can also contribute to this with their strong focus on employee engagement.
Many thanks for a great post!
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™
KateNasser MeghanMBiro TalentCulture Kate - great feedback. I definitely follow and keep up with Meghan <- smart.
Appreciate your support!
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Thanks. It's like the parenting rule. It's not what you tell them. it's what they see you doing. Transparent accountability leads to people accepting ownership and accountability for their own work.
alankay1 I like the analogy - action is always the key!
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Yes, it is absolutely true... Good leaders must face the blame and give credit where its due... Doing so, you will be a great team player and you will have the members working hard for your team. Thank you for sharing...
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LauLau81 It isn't always easy, but it is important!
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Feels like I'm stuck in a #LeadershipChat nightmare. Oy.
I'm reading the Steve Jobs biography and it's really interesting to learn all of the cool toys we have weren't actually his idea. Isaacson does a great job interviewing his colleagues and they said they'd sit in the audience, when he unveiled the lastest toy, and shake their heads because he took all the credit.
So my question is how on earth was he so successful?
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ginidietrich Very interesting indeed.I would think though Steve Jobs "took" all the credit, he is successful in driving the team in various aspects to make the product commercially successful. The process matters and that's probably where he aced at and since he is the face of the brand, it only makes sense that he is out there unveiling it. However note that the promo vids usually showcases the designers, UI department and etc instead of himself.
ginidietrich That is a really interesting question. What is funny is I have a huge recollection of how Jobs inspired innovation and the development in his industry. However I have very little memory of his team discussing his leadership? That isn't to say he wasn't a great leader, but rather to further what you are saying and to ask the question of whether or not he was as great a leader as he was an inventor/innovator?
danielnewmanUVjanwong I think the lesson I take away from it is you can be the face of the company, but give credit where credit is due. For instance, during an interview yesterday, I was asked about the Spin Sucks Google+ page. Now I've been on our page. I was part of the strategy of building it. But I didn't do the work. So I gave credit where credit was due.
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ginidietrichdanielnewmanUV I think that really sums it all up. I think giving credit is what makes a leader a leader. It would really be selfish and ungrateful if a leader goes up and say "I did it all". Without the team, there's no leadership to begin with :)
ginidietrichjanwong Gini - you do a great job of building teams and community. I'd say that is a good sign of leadership!
danielnewmanUVginidietrich I must second that. Gini is awesome!
janwongdanielnewmanUV I should hang out here more often!
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I really enjoy the perspectives in Good To Great regarding this topic. They talk about the best leaders look through a window to give credit to others...and at a mirror to place blame. In contrast, the bad leaders look at a mirror to give credit (preening of course) and through a window to place blame.
Nice post, Dan.
dbvickery Good to Great is one of my favorite books! Right up there with Seven Habits. While I didn't get this perspective from that book, I definitely kibble together content based on experience and of course the things I've read.
Thanks as always for stopping by.
I sincerely believe that giving credit to others just makes YOU look good. No amount of positive feedback will make YOU feel good if you know you're not as well as the reverse. But, when you give you get great internal satisfaction. A hard lesson for me to learn but I finally got it! I still love positive feedback - crave it in fact - but do honestly feel better praising others!
hallelujah! amen.
Great a post - a true testament to the fact that humility is an essential characteristic of leading well. It's the trait that helps you leave room for improvement.
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Daniel Newman
[...] read a great blog post by a friend and fellow 12Most author: Daniel Newman. He wrote about Leaders: Give Credit Not Blame. I am also a big fan of Good to Great by Jim Collins. Both of these authors point out the [...]