What makes a #leader?
Is it a position? a title? a set of skills?
Is it having knowledge, or having subordinates?

I know, if you’re reading this post, you are likely feeling a bit patronized by these questions. Of COURSE it’s not any of these things! We all know it–unless we don’t. Sometimes what we know intellectually is not so easily known practically.

The image accompanying this post wasn’t intended for #leaders. But, I’m pretty impressed with it’s value for us. Some of the ideas are reasonably obvious. (We know leaders need to be able to communicate.) Others are more nuanced. (When’s the last time we apologized to someone on our team? or how often do we sacrifice truth for saying what someone wants to hear?)

But, the last part is what really stands out to me. I allege that we are not leaders until we can accept #responsibility without blaming someone else. This part is a bit more difficult for many of us! In fact, it was just this past week that I spoke with a “leader” who didn’t want to engage this critical aspect of #leadership. They had every reason under the sun for why things happened…except, “I did it. It is my fault.”

So why is this a difficult part of leadership?
As easy as the concept is, it is actually REALLY tough to live out. Why is this?

I think that there are (at least) 3 reasons for the challenges we face with respect to taking #ownership and not blaming others.

1. Leaders tend to have big egos.
2. Leaders often want to protect their position.
3. Leaders don’t want to lose respect from their subordinates.

Starting with the first one: Ego has no place in leadership. It’s NOT about us! Leadership is service. Service is humility. Humility is the antithesis of EGO! (rant over)

Secondly, I get it, taking responsibility might make someone question whether we are the right person for the job. But, wanna know a secret? When we DON’T take ownership, they don’t THINK we might not be the right person, they KNOW it! No one has respect for the “leader” who blames their people and/or finds some other scapegoat.

Lastly, if you think taking responsibility will lose you respect, try deflecting! It might seem counter-intuitive, but here’s the reality: Leaders who take full responsibility are respected MORE by their subordinates–even when they make a poor decision!

I know this post has run quite long. So, I will wrap it up. In conclusion, there are many attributes of leadership. One of the most difficult is accepting responsibility (even when it is not our “fault”). But, until we are able to do this, I submit for your consideration, we are not true leaders…and we are DEFINITELY not Servant-Minded Leaders!

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