Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain—and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving. ~Dale Carnegie
Are you ready for t
he 21-day leadership challenge? Go for 21 days without blaming or criticizing others. This challenge is suggested by Steven Shallenberger in Becoming Your Best: The 12 Principles of Highly Successful Leaders to increase accountability.
I’m beginning to believe that as we rise higher in organizations, the tendency to cast blame or criticize also increases. Maybe it’s because there are more and more individuals below us to point to when things go wrong. Or, maybe it’s because we feel that we need to protect ourselves from appearing less than highly competent, all the time. It could be pride, ego, or simply fear. Whatever the reason, it’s never helpful.
I’ve seen leaders blame the economy, their staff, the weather, taxes, statistics, and politicians—to name a few—for what didn’t go well. Blaming and criticizing doesn’t equal accountability; it’s more a reflection of insecurity. Borrowing from the book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Carnegie, the following excerpt is an example of a response that was effective and didn’t include blame or criticism.
Bob Hoover, a famous test pilot and frequent performer at air shows, was returning to his home in Los Angeles from an air show in San Diego. As described in the magazine Flight Operations, at 300 feet in the air both engines suddenly stopped. By deft maneuvering he managed to land the plane, but it was badly damaged although nobody was hurt.
Hoover’s first act after the emergency landing was to inspect the airplane’s fuel. Just as he suspected, the World War II propeller plane he had been flying had been fueled with jet fuel rather than gasoline.
Upon returning to the airport, he asked to see the mechanic who had serviced his airplane. The young man was sick with agony of his mistake. Tears streamed down his face as Hoover approached. He had just caused the loss of a very expensive plane and could have caused the loss of three lives as well.
You can imagine Hoover’s anger. One could anticipate the tongue-lashing that this proud and precise pilot would unleash for carelessness. But Hoover didn’t scold the mechanic; he didn’t even criticize him. Instead, he put his big arm around the man’s should and said, “To show you I’m sure that you’ll never do this again, I want you to service my F-51 tomorrow.”
As leaders, we need to be accountable. I think Shallenberger’s challenge is a great way to practice our own accountability. Will you join me and go 21 days without blaming or criticizing?
Leadership…Who and when to criticize
It is a great idea of Steven Shallenberger to establish a moratorium on blaming and criticizing for 21 days. Also, it is true that some leaders often try to appear to be highly competent all the time. But one of the critical aspects of world class leaders is the fact that they openly communicate their weaknesses. There is an expression “Don’t trust a leader that doesn’t have a limp”. If a leader can’t communicate their weaknesses, it’s likely that the “blame game” is one of their strategies. With that said, there are some strategies employed successfully by world class leaders. Here are a few to consider:
– Ask open-ended questions in order to better understand the situation at hand
– Get multiple points of view before coming to a conclusion
Leadership…Who and when to criticize
It’s a great idea of Steven Shallenberger to suggest that leaders establish a moratorium on blaming and criticizing for 21 days. Also, it is true that some leaders often try to appear to be highly competent all the time. But one of the critical aspects of world class leaders is the fact that they openly communicate their weaknesses. There is an expression “Don’t trust a leader that doesn’t have a limp”. If a leader can’t communicate their weaknesses, it’s likely that the organization will suffer and the “blame game” is one of their strategies when something goes wrong. With that said, there are some strategies employed successfully by world class leaders.
Here are six approaches to consider:
– Try to remain calm in the face of turmoil
– Ask open-ended questions in order to understand the situation
– Get multiple points of view before coming to a conclusion
– Determine what the “down-side” risks are
– Come up with a viable solution
– Provide “constructive” criticism off-line
Try to remain calm in the face of turmoil
The worse action to take is to fly off the handle and start naming and blaming. Nothing good can come from that. World class leaders rarely “run down the street with their hair on fire”. This is where words get used that can’t be taken back. Calm leadership is one of the first steps needed to recover from a bad situation. The team generally is waiting to see just how the leader will react. The expression “the speed of the leader is the speed of the team” is true in this situation. Calmly approaching the situation is best for all parties concerned (and it helps tremendously in getting to the bottom of the problem).
Ask open-ended questions in order to understand the situation
This is how the world class leader excels. Before they make a decision, they realize that it is critical to understand the total scope of the situation or the problem. If their questions start with “Who, What, When, Where, How much, How long”, it will go a long way at getting to the issues at hand. Once the world class leader gets to the end of this process, the picture becomes much clearer and a possible solution to the problem can emerge.
Get multiple points of view before coming to a conclusion
The world class leader will try to hear from as many involved people as possible. Each person clearly gets from their leader that nothing is out of bounds, nothing is off limits, and there will be no penalty for communicating the facts of what transpired.
Determine what the “down-side” risks are
Without blaming anyone, the world class leader has the facts of the situation, what went wrong and the potential down side risks. With the risks isolated, potential solutions can be determined.
Come up with a viable solution
There is an old adage “there are 100 ways to skin a cat”. Based on experience and the input from a strong team, the world class leader will decide on possible solutions to the problem. He/she may make the final decision but it done with others providing guidance along the process. The old adage, “there is wisdom in the counsel of many” is especially true here. With the best solution determined, the world class leader will put it in motion and take full responsibility for the problem. This is not the time for blaming or pointing fingers.
Provide “constructive” criticism off-line
If it is determined that someone was responsible for the problematic situation, generally the world class leader will give advice and constructive criticism to the person/s responsible. The admonition might be very strong and direct but it is not to tear down but to build up, regardless of how thoughtless or immature the error was. One of the best teaching aids is when the world class leader shares a time when they “screwed up”. This hits home like nothing else. It shows that the leader also has faults and weaknesses.
So, when the moratorium on blaming and criticizing is over, it will be critical for the leader to have a process to replace the old one. Most psychologists suggest that it takes 21 days to eliminate a habit but it also takes 21 days to establish a new one. So, I suggest to leaders start today to make a decision of your will to cast off the yoke of blaming and pick up a process that will have long term positive implications.