Sharing the Credit & Assuming the Responsibility

All the most effective leaders I know share an important skill, or perhaps more accurately, a willingness to shine the light on everyone around them when there are accolades to accept. They will make a real effort to include everyone on the team, even those who didn't participate at the level the leader expected. Not only is this willingness to share the spotlight a generous thing to do, it's a very smart thing to do as well. Have you ever participated in a team effort but for could not contribute at a high level for some reason? If the end result is successful and the leader take all the credit you, along with your teammates, will probably wonder if your efforts were really worth your time and if yours were subpar you might feel justified for slacking off.

But, when the leader generously and lavishly praises all involved, no matter their participation because, after all, it was a "team" effort, won't you feel a twinge of guilt for not giving a full-out effort and resolve to do better the next time? Most people will and that smart leader knows exactly that. They may also expect that you'll be coming in to talk about how you can perform at a higher level the next time and that conversation will lead to a better understanding of your role and responsibilities.

And when team results don't end up so well.... what should we expect of the smart leader? That's when they take on the responsibility for the overall performance of the team, knowing that, once again, the team members will look at their role and how their contributions could have been different. Those one-on-one conversations are then most certainly called for in this circumstance.

This is the kind of leader that attracts the best talent, the hardest workers, and the happiest people. All of us that know one or have one in our lives can be very grateful. Credit for all, blame for one.