It is not uncommon to see medium to large organizations get caught in the blame game. This is where different teams or departments blame their lack of effectiveness on another team or department. It is not unusual to see individuals on a team blame each other for a lack of results. It sounds like this, “If only the other guy would get his act together, than I could succeed in what I am being asked to do.” Or it may sound like this, “If only that other department truly knew and understood what we do, then they would be much more agreeable to working together and helping meet our needs.” I see this at times in my own organization.
The end result of the blame game is a lack of trust. People value their own work, and may even generally like their co workers in another department, but they don’t trust them to do the right thing or add value. This creates silos and getting work done via crony relationships. But 21st century leadership requires cooperation and collaboration. We need to be about creating healthy cultures of personal responsibility and interdependency. Ultimately, the blame game serves to erode the leadership and work culture of any organization.
I think there are three major considerations to eradicating the blame game.
1. Directional Clarity.
Has top level leadership provided overall directional clarity?
Do all teams and departments understand the top three directional priorities?
What can you personally do to lead up or down to bring this kind of clarity to every team and department?
If there is a lack of directional clarity then there is nothing to rally around. Teams and departments will automatically compete for resources through the “loudest voice” approach.
I categorically believe that the number one daily function of every leader is to make sure that organizational “magnetic north” is always clear.
Is every person able to communicate the top organizational priorities and are the able to see where their unique contribution fits in the accomplishment of those priorities?
2. Clean Lines of Authority.
Who are the ultimate decision makers for every team and department?
Who are the overall organizational decision makers?
Authority is about how who holds the power to make decisions.
When lines of authority are confusing, barriers are immediately erected to cooperation and collaboration.
Do the right people report to the right people?
Are teams and departments aligned correctly for the effective and efficient functioning of the organization?
Have the right people been empowered to act?
3. Shared Goals.
This is closely akin to the first consideration.
Are organizational goals dictated or are the appropriate teams and departments allowed to speak into those goals?
Without shared goals there really is no compelling reason to cooperate and collaborate.
Aiming for shared goals forces better communication and understanding.
It cultivates ownership, and therefore perpetuates best efforts, best practices, and shared learning. This can even lead to a great sense of shared leadership.
Shared goals can foster a healthy sense of dependency on other teams and departments to get the job done.
To “blame” means to “find fault with, to hold another responsible for the bad that happens.”
Leaders are truly the ones who are responsible when blaming becomes epidemic. Is a culture of blame growing up around you? Maybe it is time to run a diagnostic to better determine the clarity of your direction, the cleanness of your lines of authority, and the degree to which you are promoting shared goals. You could begin with some of the questions above.
What else would you add to this analysis?
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