Admitting Guilt or Accepting Responsibility?

TOPICs: LEADERSHIP SKILLS

Admitting Guilt or Accepting Responsibility?

If I were asked to name the one thing which has contributed most to the decline of our society my answer would be the loss of personal accountability. No matter where you look these days, someone can come up with a reason why they shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions. 

At the risk of venturing into politics to make my point, the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump is a perfect example. The day after the assassination attempt the Secret Service Director admitted fault but insisted that she would not resign. In other words, she was unwilling to suffer consequences for leadership failures which resulted in the death of a firefighter and the near death of a presidential candidate under protection from the Secret Service. (Only under extreme pressure did she finally resign several days later.)

Leadership is inextricably linked to responsibility. It is a leader’s responsibility to hire the right people for the job. It is the leader’s responsibility to train his teams to perform their duties. It is the leader’s responsibility to anticipate issues before they become problems. It is the leader’s responsibility to insist that protocols are followed, and violators are disciplined and/or dismissed. In short, every outcome – successful or not – is ultimately the responsibility of the leader.

The minute a leader steps into his leadership role he becomes accountable. Strong leaders constantly analyze organizational strengths and weaknesses. Strengths are capitalized on and weaknesses are attacked. Strong leaders make mistakes, but they are seldom caught unprepared. Weak leaders look for people who agree with them while strong leaders welcome diverse and challenging opinions.

When weak leaders fail they seek scapegoats, while strong leaders step forward, take accountability and pursue appropriate corrective actions. If it sounds noble to accept guilt when a plan fails, it isn’t. It is noble to do everything in your power to achieve success. It is noble to anticipate problems before they occur. It is noble to provide all the training and resources needed by your teams. And it is noble to put

your job on the line when things go awry.

In the days following the assassination attempt the Secret Service director floated several excuses for the catastrophic performance of her organization. She admitted certain shortcomings but stopped short of taking full responsibility. Not surprisingly, her equally weak boss publicly protected her. (Weak leaders always seem to attract weak subordinates.) Given this type of weak leadership, what are the chances for dramatic improvement anytime soon? If you answered “none,” you would be correct.

Accountability does not begin when you accept a leadership role. It begins at birth and it ends when you die. Accountable people tell the truth and do the right thing. Accountable people look at themselves first. Accountable people expect others to be accountable, too. Not only do accountable people make great leaders, they also make good followers.

Take a quick look at your own leadership style. If you find yourself pointing fingers when mistakes happen instead of looking in the mirror, you have some work to do in the accountability department. (Believe me, your peers and subordinates already know whether you hold yourself accountable or not.) Don’t wait for them to tell you – if it needs fixing, start fixing it today.