Episode 12: Leaders Take Absolute Responsibility
“Success on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility . . . In the final analysis, the one quality that all successful people have is the ability to take on responsibility”. —Michael Korda
“A leader can give up anything— except final responsibility”. —John C. Maxwell
Leaders face whatever life throws at them and give it their best, knowing that they will get an opportunity to lead the team only if they’ve proven that they can carry the ball.
Episode 12: Leaders Take Absolute Responsibility
“Success on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility . . . In the final analysis, the one quality that all successful people have is the ability to take on responsibility”. —Michael Korda
“A leader can give up anything— except final responsibility”. —John C. Maxwell
Leaders face whatever life throws at them and give it their best, knowing that they will get an opportunity to lead the team only if they’ve proven that they can carry the ball.
Three characteristics of leaders who embrace responsibility:
You can make excuses or make it happen, you cannot do both.
REFLECTION QUESTION 1: What is one area of your life where you could put forth a little bit more effort?
Nobody cares about your career as much as you do.
- Leaders go above and beyond.
Don't we all feel good when we know that somebody has put in a little bit extra effort for us?
Leaders never use the phrase “that's not my job.”
When your people have that kind of attitude, it's not their fault, but really yours. Because, as John Maxwell says, “Everything Rises and falls on leadership.”
President Harry S Truman once famously said, “ the buck stops here.”
REFLECTION QUESTION 2: How can you go above and beyond with your team?
BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Leading Up, by Michael Useem
It doesn’t matter where you’re at in your company, middle management, upper management,, lowever management, no management, it’s your job to lead up and you can have that kind of influence.
- Leaders shoot for excellence.
People who want the best for their people, have to demand Excellence from themselves.
You want to achieve your best so the people on your team can achieve their best.
“Stress comes from doing less than you can.”- Jim Rohn
Leaders are the men and women in the room who set “high quality” as the goal. When you do that, the responsibility will naturally follow that. It is the leader who decides to live by that standard of Excellence who will raise the bar for everybody in the room.
Dream and Vision behind Rising Tide: A rising tide lifts all boats.
The natural outcome from you holding yourself to a higher standard will be attracting like-minded people.
Mo’s Final thoughts:
When leaders accept responsibility for their actions, completely... they put their team in the best position to win. When you take away the angst of needing to perform from your team, you’re gonna free them up to do what they do best.
By accepting total responsibility, you model the way for your people. When you take total responsibility, your team will start to do the same. That means it will become a part of your culture. You will change culture that way.
Amazon Book Link: Leading Up, by Michael Useem
Special thanks to:
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