Whenever we go on road trips my daughter likes to watch movies on the computer while we drive to pass the time. Today, she watched A Bug’s Life. While she was watching it, there was a line that stuck out to me.
The First Rule Of Leadership
There was a point when Flik made a mistake and spilled all the food into the water. Hopper got really mad and went straight to Princess Atta. He began asking Princess Atta what had happened and why the error occurred. Princess Atta claimed she didn’t know what had happened and that it wasn’t her fault. To that Hopper replied, “The first rule of leadership – It’s always your fault!” This is very true!
There are three things a leader should do to be able to take the blame.
Leaders should know what’s going on.
As the leader, you should know what your projects your employees are working on. You should know what their responsibilities are and how well they are keeping up on their projects. You should also know their workload and understand when they are getting overloaded. It can be a challenge, but as the leader you should be in constant communication with your employees to stay on top of things.
Leaders should convey the right information.
In line with knowing what is going on, leaders should convey the right information both to their superiors and their employees. When leaders are in constant communication with their employees, they must keep them in the loop on things that will affect their projects. They must also be sure to keep their superiors up to date on project aspects that will affect the organizations forward progress.
Leaders should make sure their employees are doing the right things.
I am not a fan of micromanaging your employees. You should, however, make sure your employees set their priorities correctly. You need to make sure the most important things are getting done and you have the adequate resources to stay on top of them. If the prioritization is not done correctly, the leader should make sure the priorities get adjusted properly.
The leader should take responsibility for their employees’ actions. They should have the attitude that the “buck stops here.” I have seen leaders that place the blame on their employees and, although that may fly for a short time, it doesn’t work for long. If the leader isn’t solving the problems, whether they are personnel or project related, they will be looked at as ineffective leaders.
Does the buck stop at your desk? Do you take the blame for what happens with your employees? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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