Blame And Responsibility

If you are in business, whether it is one you own or one you manage, you are going to make mistakes. Those mistakes are inevitable. They are part of your business’s and your own personal growth and ultimate success.

It is how you personally respond to those mistakes that can make a huge difference in your effectiveness as a manager or an owner. As this article from the Harvard Business Review states, playing the “blame game” never works.

Those who work with you and for you observe your behavior when a mistake is made either by you or someone for whom you are responsible. If you assume responsibility, you are not taking the blame. After all, you are the boss or manager, so you are responsible. Sometimes the blame does belong to someone else, so it has to be addressed. The way you handle it can be a learning moment for those you work with, so be constructive, not destructive.

A good manager or owner always creates a psychological environment of security so that others are not afraid to take risks because that creates the success of the mission statement. The article suggests that focusing on learning from those mistakes, even rewarding them creates a culture where no one is resistant to innovation. Blaming produces the opposite effect where everyone lives in fear and innovation is at best diluted and at worst invisible.