MODERN LEADERSHIP
I didn’t make it because (insert
relevant excuse) got in the way
Sorry I missed that email it must
have got lost in the Internet ether
Etc. Etc.
At it worst ‘Blame-itis’ evolves to
become a list of excuses as to why
others achieved and you didn’t.
Again, we’ve all heard them (and
maybe even said them ourselves)
- “Well, they’ve got the contacts,
the client base, the thousands of
followers, the budgets, the team,
the experience, the resources and
they don’t have (insert whatever
you have that you feel is getting in
the way).
The topline is this: Blame-itis
quite simply is not accepting
responsibility for any of your
actions or accountability of your
own behaviours. It’s about making
excuses and not accepting that
maybe, just maybe, you did play
a critical part in things not quite
going to plan. That actually it isn’t
anyone else’s fault that you didn’t
achieve your goals last year. It’s
yours. And the thing is Blame-itis
has one result - ineffectiveness,
status quo, and inaction. So how
do you cure a case of Blame-itis?
1 Take ownership
Of course we all have different
baggage, backgrounds, financial
situations, and stuff going on.
But if you want it enough, if you
are hungry enough and if you take
control of owning your role in
writing your story, creating your
own dreams - then action does
happen.
Own your successes and your
failures. Own your dreams, your
goals, and your behavior. Own
the actions you take. Own the
tribe you choose to work with, the
projects you choose to navigate
and deliver, the essential contacts
that will absolutely transform
you and accelerate your journey
to success. Own the highs and
the lows, the results and the
failures. Own the opportunity
to continuously learn and grow
because only by doing this will
you head down the road labeled
‘Personal Success’.
2 Hold yourself accountable
for your actions
Whether things go to plan or not,
hold yourself 100% accountable
for your results, whatever they may
be. It’s not about making excuses
or quitting the game. It’s simply
about considering that perhaps you
may somehow have contributed
to the end result. Hold yourself
accountable, assess what you
could do differently next time, and
take note of what you have learnt
because this will absolutely create
the right next appropriate action
towards achieving your ultimate
goals
3 Find the lesson
Don’t be afraid of failure or
admitting your mistakes. When
we give ourselves permission to
fail, incredible lessons are learned.
Failure is a chance to regroup, to
learn and grow. Unless you’re really
willing to learn the lesson, even if
it feels uncomfortable at times,
you can never move forward. Be
honest with yourself – the actions
you took and the choices you
made. Take a moment to look at
things from another’s perspective.
The lesson is always there if you
are open to seeing it and open to
growth.
4 Let go and move on
Dwelling on the small stuff can be
debilitating. We end-up in a neverending cycle of ‘coulda, shoulda,
woulda’. Unless we let go of the
blame game and finger pointing,
accept what happened and
embrace the learnings from the
situation we are unable to move
forward. The choice is yours – sit
in a quagmire of excuses and the
resulting sludge of status quo or
accept that things didn’t quite go
to plan, re-group, re-plan and move
on.
It’s a New Year. It’s a new start.
It’s a new game. Let’s kick Blameitis well and truly in the butt.
Ownership, accountability and selfawareness are a good start.
Janine Garner is a businesswoman
and entrepreneur, passionate about
the return to open and transparent
corporate relationships and the power
of commercial collaboration in futureproofing careers and businesses. She is
the Founder and CEO of LBDGroup and
works with senior leaders to build high
performing teams. For more information
visit http://www.janinegarner.com.au
October 2016
ModernBusiness
67