CA

Next. There are three steps to recovering from your blame game addiction.

You've got the right people on the bus; now ask yourself this:

How do people in your team or organization react (what do they feel, think, and say) when things go wrong?

Do you know the answer, exactly? We do, because we've done extensive research on how people respond when things go wrong. What we've learned will change your definition of responsibility forever. It is both predictable and troubling.

When Things Go Wrong

As long as everything is going your way you don't much talk about responsibility. It's when things go wrong that you start defining responsibility — and things go wrong everywhere, every day, all day! Communication fails, schedules conflict, processes break down, decisions disappoint, and mistakes arise.

Most accountability practices fall far short because there are, according to our painstaking research, six ways people effectively avoid responsibility when things go wrong — and get away with it as a matter of course. Even highly skilled, intelligent, and well-compensated people avoid taking responsibility when things go wrong, and get away with it over and over and over again. These six responses chew up enormous resources while adding zero value to your work. Until it's pointed out to you, you don't see it in your culture — it's ambient. Would you like to change that?

What Responsibility Means

Let's face it. Responsibility is a loaded word; it's full of baggage. To some, responsibility is a burden. To others responsibility is a reward. For many, responsibility means having someone to point to. And, responsibility also means owning your choices and outcomes.