All of us have decisions that we make on a minute-by-minute basis. Some of these decisions are much larger in scope and influence than others. Some affect just you, your family, or your company while other decisions reach a much broader level of influence, affecting many more lives. With every decision comes a reaction – the basic cause-and-effect scenario that we all learned about early on in our lives. Sometimes, we make great decisions, and yet there are other times wherein, in hindsight, our decisions were blurred and found to be incorrect. Either way, if we are to be a true leader, we must hold ourselves accountable for the decisions that we make. We cannot scapegoat others when our feet are rightfully placed to the fire.
A true leader accepts the responsibility for his or her individual actions and decisions, no matter if those actions and decisions were good or bad. If the decisions were great, it is okay to accept a quick pat on the back. If the decisions were terrible, it is time to accept the responsibility for those decisions and quickly find a way to work to resolve the situation as best as possible. And then, a great leader will take heed of this experience and learn from the mistaken decision in an effort to ensure that it never happens again.
We all can easily turn on the television and watch the news or simply find breaking news articles and blogs online that all point to a debatable circumstance that is currently happening wherein the people or companies are not being accountable for their own actions. Examples are plentiful, including a few of my current favorites. Many people were angry at Tiger Woods and his lack of initial accountability when dealing with his numerous cases of infidelity. More recently, there is ever-growing outrage over the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Of course, political candidates and officials tend to find scapegoats along the way too.
Personally, I cannot see any way around holding yourself accountable for your own actions if you want to be the best leader possible. If you do not hold yourself responsible and accountable for what you do or decide, how can you then hold others accountable for what they do or say?
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