We have entered a surreal world when people mix up the two prime leadership traits. Responsibility is an individual action trait. Accountability is what leaders have regarding the actions of others.
No one is responsible to any other persons actions. We can only be held accountable if we made an agreement, or knew better, or once informed did nothing. But let me tell you as a leader never mix these two prime traits up or the environment around you becomes chaos or like Lord of the flies.
So what happens when you mix them up or do these wrong.
- If somehow you let others convince you that you are responsible for the actions of someone else. Then the next horrifying virtual reality gets conjured up: it is called blame. Blame is the first fall of humans who are convinced responsibility is one to the other.
- The second terrifying fall is the mental condition you will convince yourself of when you screw up being responsible for your own actions. And that is entitlement or the condition it causes: lacking the deep knowledge that relentless practice is what you must do to better yourself.
- The third ill fated twist is when leaders don’t account for the actions of others. When the team screws something up, the ill fated leader looks at the person not the action. The count the person as the problem not the action and never correct the action through research, training, and adjusting. Fire the person and guarantee the next person will slip on the banana peel again.
Ok what happens when the prime traits are handled correctly by leaders and individuals?
- People make mistakes then the person who made it stands up and fesses up no matter how gross the mistake. They make a new agreement and adjust to deal with the issue. No one blames anyone else and the team consolidates around the person and the problem and get back on it.
- Once you realize you are not entitled to anything at all, not even breathing or life then you get to work on bettering yourself and everything around you. You practice like it matters. You keep cleaning up spills, you keep adjusting you to the circumstance.
- Leaders start planning and considering actions required to succeed not personalities. Begin training people to do actions that is the key aspect.
Alas it seems the opposite happens rather often.
Violence is blamed on everyone else than the one who did the violent thing. Mom or dad is blamed. Cops are blamed. Leaders are blamed. The other driver is to blame. The dumbest thing I have ever heard is blaming violence on guns. Blame never resolves the incident from happening the first time or again and again.
Everyone will hate me for saying but if you don’t want to get rid of violence first hold the one who done it responsible
Then train everyone to carry a gun and know how to use it and what to do in the face of violence.
We seem to pay too much attention to social media and often news. No one is entitled to money, a job, or being treated right, or a trophy or a job or a degree. No one deserves anything. And that is a good thing my friends. You will only get the thing you want when you practice and are relentless and earn it. Earn it works try it.
Guns don’t kill people, people kill people that is just a truth.
Different colored skin doesn’t mean you deserve a leg up or deserve to be beaten down. Just get to it.
It literally takes 1000 attempts and anything to be an amateur. It takes 10,000 times to get to a point to decide if you are good or bad at it. It takes a life time to earn it.
Blame is for the weak and down trodden and lost. Because blame doesn’t help anyone get better.
Own up to every action you take the good and bad and missed opportunities are yours to be responsible for. Adjust and try again. Lead people to try again.
Earn food, earn your clothes, earn first or last place, earn the love of your partner, don’t expect any of it.