As a parent, there are moments where I must discipline my children. Sometimes, I may catch them red-handed and there are other moments when their conscience will bring them to a point of admitting their wrongdoings. But, there are moments where they begin to play the blame game.
The blame game is something I used to play too when I was younger. The blame game is something my brothers and I would play when we would not want to suffer the consequences of whatever decision we had made. Well, we may have been the instigator or may have been the person to initiate the rambunctious deed, at the moment where we knew that the strong arm of the law of our parents was about to come upon us, we defaulted to the blame game.
The blame game is something many individuals are still playing today. They blame their shortcomings and their lack of opportunities on others, instead of going out and making their opportunity. We can either wait for someone to open the door or we can go ahead and open it for ourselves; create the opportunity even in the moment of adversity.
Oftentimes an organization we see the blame game appear as well. However, the leader should not engage in this action. The leader should not engage in the blame game. Rather, the leader should take the blame.
It's the leader who fills positions, it's the leader who hires and fires and it's the leader who has the responsibility of casting the vision upon everyone else. It's the leader who has to help everyone, to ensure the culture of the organization is not contaminated by outside influences or negative influences, that fall on the leader's shoulders.
You may be the CEO or the CFO or a manager or a supervisor, whatever title your name tag, cubicle, or office door says but as the leader the responsibility, the blame stops with you. We have descended into a time in society when too many people blame others for shortcomings or blame others for the "lack of opportunities" for growth. This type of attitude cannot exist in leadership, we must take responsibility.
As mentioned by
Ron Gibori in his 2017
INC.com article titled: "The 1 Thing Greater Leaders Don't Do", "True leaders pull the thumb, before they point the finger". We cannot fall into the trap, as leaders, of playing the blame game when things go array. Instead, let us reevaluate and use that moment to improve or implement new processes; the blame game doesn't help advance the cause, it just delays it.
