Bev's Tips for a Better Work Life
Bev Jones' twice-monthly ezine offering you suggestions
for making your career more productive and more fun.

Dear Friends and Clients,

The best boss I ever had was a mild-mannered guy named Dave Weatherwax. Although he was highly successful as Senior VP and General Counsel of a multibillion-dollar company, Dave remained modest. During the decade I worked for him, I never heard him raise his voice or treat a colleague rudely.

Among the most important lessons I learned from Dave is that great leaders are masters at managing credit and blame. Dave understood that credit is a vast resource to be spread around, not hoarded. And when things were going well in my area, he allowed me and my team to step forward and be thanked for the good news.

Dave was lavish in sharing credit but did not indulge in spreading blame. When problems arose he took responsibility. When his team made a mistake, he typically examined the situation in a lawyer-like way, then turned immediately to thinking strategically about near term solutions and long term improvements to the system.

As a coach, I have observed quite a few toxic institutional cultures that could benefit greatly from lessons like Dave’s. And I have seen talented managers stumble because they were not able to deftly handle credit and blame. Allocation of blame and credit is a key leadership and relationship-building skill, and in this issue I am pleased to tell you about an excellent new book that explores how it can impact our success.

Warm Wishes, Bev


Avoid the Pitfalls
Of the Blame Game

April 19, 2011 * Number 146

In The Blame Game, psychologist Ben Dattner suggests that our careers will be greatly influenced by whether or not we fall into the trap of mishandling the distribution of blame when things go wrong. He says that it is human nature to want to grab credit and escape blame. But we can be more successful, and also influence the culture around us, by understanding this human tendency and behaving in ways that are more thoughtful and strategic.

Dattner looks to personality psychology to explain why it is that some people have such difficulty in coping with failure and assigning blame. He says that we may be inclined to play the blame game in some way because of characteristics built into our personalities. Relying on earlier research, he suggests that many of us may fall into one of these three personality categories:
  • Extrapunitive. These people look anywhere but themselves to explain away problem situations. They consistently blame their mistakes on other people or external factors. They may overreact to minor mistakes or even anticipate failure before it happens. But they look for excuses if the error seems to be theirs, perhaps blaming whoever assigned the task.

  • Impunitive. Members of this group may become angry or hurt when held responsible for errors. But they tend to avoid getting in that situation by spinning the facts, denying problems and remaining vague about outcomes.

  • Intropunitive. These folks direct blame inward, perhaps to an extreme extent. They may be so worried about failure that they cannot make decisions. They may overreact so much to criticism that others are reluctant to offer feedback.
If you think that you might fall within one of these categories, Dattner suggests that you look within yourself as a way to grow beyond your personality type. He says “people who master the dynamics of credit and blame cultivate self-knowledge to the point where they can perceive their own tendencies with the same perspective and accuracy that they have in observing others’ and remain focused on the long term. Self-knowledge and a thoughtful and balanced approach to giving and getting credit and blame go hand-in-hand.”

But what if you find yourself in a blaming culture? Dattner says that it is still important to start the change process with yourself. “Everyone has much more control over how they personally react to credit and blame, and how they dispense both, than they have over how anyone else does.”

Looking for a speaker? Bev is available to speak to your group, and she and her team would be pleased to create a workshop or retreat. Or to explore many career related issues simply visit Bev's website at www.ClearWaysConsulting.com. Check out brief book reviews, eZine archives and Bev’s blog. If you have questions email to Bev directly.
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Bevs Tips for a Better Work Life is published on the first and third Tuesday of each month by Beverly E. Jones of ClearWays Consulting, LLC. Bev is a lawyer and former executive who now coaches accomplished executives and other professionals to bring new direction, energy and enjoyment to their work lives.

Copyright ©2011, ClearWays Consulting, LLC Beverly E. Jones
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