Frank Rich, the lead Op-Ed writer for the New York Times, on Sunday April 11th, wrote an article questioning whether self-accountability has all but disappeared as a value. Mr. Rich opines on the matter by referring to the blame and finger pointing mastered by many, from Alan Greenspan to of course, Tiger Woods. It seems like everyone has something or somebody to blame. I see this regularly in the everyday workplace as well.
None of us is perfect. But how about each of us taking more responsibility for our own actions and then personally doing something to correct the situation. No blame. No excuses. Accept the situation. Own up to mistakes. Take personal action to fix ourselves first. If we all did that we would model self-accountability as a leadership trait. No need to hire spin masters.
with Character,
Lorne