It's Your Fault

I need to prescribe a little leadership pill that is pretty hard to swallow... but oh so good for you... and everyone you lead.

When you come into conflict with someone you lead, mark this:

All of it is never your fault.

Some of it is always your fault.

If you assume all of the responsibility for the conflict, you'll end up owning issues that are not yours to own. Soon you'll be overcompensating for someone else's dysfunction. You'll aggravate the injury because you're treating the wrong symptoms.

If you assume too little of the responsibility, you're passing up a jackpot of learning experiences and opportunity for improvement. Plus, you're the kind of jerk that no one wants to work for because you're never wrong.

If the issue is theirs, forgive, coach, and appropriately reposition them. If the issue is yours, own it, and convert it into wisdom. Either way, you get better with every failure. And that's a success.