Finding someone to blame is the default response to a bad outcome. This starting mentality and the accompanying reaction is not generally productive. A leader’s reaction to a bad result can be good for the relationship, the team, and the business or it can damage one or all three of these.
Here’s the tough pill to swallow – If things are not as they should be, leaders either cause, participate in, or allow it. The best leaders I know build and maintain a high level of self-awareness and a part of that is an essential reflective question: “In what ways did I contribute to this result?”
The ability to look in the mirror and see what is there rather than what we wish was there is an essential characteristic of high-performing leaders. I’m the Outsider and that’s what I think.