The Louisiana Gulf oil crisis is a classic example of blame becoming a barrier and detriment to the solution. Blame will not cap the well. All groups working together hopefully will: BP, Coast Guard, EPA, and local groups. All ideally want the same thing – cap the damn well and stop the environmental damage. Worry about all the litigious action likely to follow later. Law suits won’t kill the environment, weeks of spewing oil will.
Often under times of crises, blame seems to become the driving agenda between interdependent parties. Yet the immediate mandate must be to find the solution not the hollow victory of proving somebody wrong. There is a time for reviewing what happened after the problem is solved.
Leadership is bringing all parties who can add value to the table, listening with an open mind, and having the courage to make choices and act. The same principles apply to the small crises many of us are involved with regularly. See what you can do to focus on the problem and suppress the seduction to blame.
You will find yourself working on the right things in the right way.
with Character,
Lorne