Looking in the Mirror

The following post is intended to help the reader understand the power of taking full responsibility for problems or lackluster results of the groups and organizations they lead.  By doing so, they will identify what really went wrong and better develop solutions and take actions that effectively resolve the situation permanently.

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies a number of leadership levels with Level 5 being the top or ideal level.  One of the key character traits of such leaders is that they look in a mirror when things go bad and they look out the window when things go well.  What that means is that great leaders take responsibility for what goes wrong and they give credit to others when things go well.  It takes one mature person to do that.  It is very hard to do.  It is so easy to blame, especially when you are at the top of your business.  You can blame so much and so many.  Also, it is easy to take credit for all the great things that happen.

Blaming and taking credit are bad habits many develop early on.  We learn these bad habits at home and in school since these “social systems” punish those who make mistakes and reward those who do well.  As humans, we avoid pain and thus avoid the punishment that comes from making mistakes and taking responsibility for them.  We also enjoy the fruits of success and will do whatever it takes to succeed, sometimes including taking credit for things we may not have totally been responsible for.

I have recently had a number of opportunities to blame others for things that have happened.  I chose not to do so.  Instead, I chose to “look in the mirror” and to reflect upon the factors I controlled and influenced what had transpired.  I took responsibility for the results.  This allowed me to figure out the root cause.  And typically when root causes emerge, better solutions ensue.  More importantly, I felt really good about it.  It felt good to take responsibility and it felt good to see how others (my board and my team) reacted to my doing so.  It was so good that I now walk around with a small mirror to constantly remind me.

Ever since I read another great business book by Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline, I tried to live by one of his Laws:  There is not blame.  However, that never got me to look at myself as much as to look at “the system” for what went wrong.  When something went wrong I would ask lots of questions to see what went wrong.  On the other hand, the mirror metaphor makes you look inside.  It forces you to ask several questions:

• What did I contribute to the results?
• What could I have done differently?
• How did my actions or the lack thereof contribute?
• What or who did I miss, avoid, ignore, forget, etc.?

Once you get clarity regarding your role, you can proceed with much more comfort to examine all the pieces of the system that need improvement.  Taking responsibility does not preclude others from being held accountable.  It does not mean you are the only “guilty” party.  It means the buck stops with you.  And that gives you a lot more power to fix and improve things the first time out.  Fixing problems without dealing with the root cause does not fix them permanently.  They come back to hunt you or someone else one day.  According to another one of Senge’s Laws, “The easy way out leads right back in.” Top leaders look in the mirror, identify what really went wrong, and they take full responsibility and action to resolve whatever went wrong.  And they feel great about it and others do too!

Have you looked in the mirror lately?  — Try it, it feels great!

The BEST is Yet to Come!

Epi Torres, CEO