I really like to read the news. By reading the news I stay informed as to what is going on and am able to see trends before and as they happen. I like the stories about companies that are successful and those that are struggling because they teach me what works and what does not. I also see what companies do well and what they do that doesn’t work. Lately, I have seen a lot of leaders that are not willing to own up (take responsibility) when things go bad. I have also seen other leaders that own up when things go well even when they should not be the ones taking the credit.
Own Up For Your Actions!
I did not do extensive research, however, I found that many of the leaders of the struggling companies did not own up for what had happened. They each had a scapegoat because there was a chance the company would fail. In addition to the articles I read this week, I have found that many times the leaders of failing companies do all they can to pass the blame by saying it is not their fault. They are not willing to own up for where the company is going.
On the flip side, the leaders of successful companies are very quick to own up for all the success. They give themselves a pat on the back because THEY did such a good job directing the company. These leaders try to steal the credit for all the good that happens within their organization rather than give credit to those that really did the work.
Good leaders know when and how to own up for what happens. They give credit where it is due and accept the blame when they or their team messes up. As the leader, you have a great amount of responsibility when directing your organization. If you are going to be quick to take credit, it is important that you are also quick to take the blame.
As the leader, you are responsible for setting the standard for your organization. Regardless of whether you are a mid-level manager or a senior executive, you set the tone for those you lead. You create the system and determine how it is run. As the leader, it is important to own up when you make decisions no matter the outcome.
Have you had a leader that took all the credit for your success? And/or, have you had a leader that blamed you when things went wrong? How did their actions make you feel? Have you had a leader that took all the blame and passed all the credit to those who really deserved it? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Decision making is basically risk analysis. If you ignore the path others have walked before you in similar instances (nobody invents the wheel today is just repackaged), if you have access to information, trends and reports and ignore it then it’s not a decision but a gamble and you’re betting against the house-house rules are the house always wins.
Napoleon was a great general, he won circa 180 battles of circa 288 fought which is a great statistic for a general of the times. He calculated and risk analysed every situation except for the weather for one of the most famous battles ever. He had the enemy pinned down and vulnerable and rather than act immediately he left if for 3 days, the morning of June 15th 1815 it rained, his heavy artillery was rendered useless, the British had fortified their defence and used the natural contours of the land to strengthen their hand……..eventually the battle was lost as the Prussians had time to come to join and history tells the rest……….his original analysis had become dated and left him open to risk.
My point is Napoleon had risk analysed, gathered information and calculated certain victory, how ever he had not calculated into his equation the one thing outside his control – the weather – this was his down fall. Had he acted upon the analysis at that time with all the factors in his story perhaps we’d all be speaking French rather than English………..
Analyse, trend and calculate = correct decision at the time, should this prove in time to be the wrong decision you have the evidence and factors in place to justify the decision
Remember this – hindsight is 20/20 vision….foresight is slightly blurred but you can clarify the vision if approached in the right manner.
Also in decision making quite often there’s a trade off, the equation is simple – the pay off must be equal to or greater than the trade off.
This is my opinion, please feel free to counter discuss or comment as I welcome all opinions and am fascinated by the thoughts of others. Sorry for the historical reference it was only to punctuate my thoughts. Sadly Napoleon is best known and remembered for a battle he lost and not the many he won, don’t let this be your mark on history/industry!!
Welcome David!
I really appreciate your well thought out comment! I also really like the example that you used. That is a great explanation of how people should think things through before arriving to a decision. It is so important to have all the facts in front of you, as best as possible, before making a decision. If you lay out all the options and think things through, there will inevitably be additional variables that will play a role in the outcome but you will, as you pointed out, have a good justification as to why you acted the way you did. It is when people don’t think through all the options and analyze the situation with a critical thinking perspective that major problems come. As a leader, once you think every thing through, you must be willing to take responsibility for your actions by owning your decisions. Thanks again for your great comment!