Take Responsibility For Your Actions

That is the title of lesson #4 in my book. I was 10 years old when my dad first taught me this lesson. I learned it through a sporting event, but it always amazes me how much it comes up in everyday life. Some people take responsibility for their actions and some don't. It's funny how those that don't never seem to get anything accomplished. They never seem happy because they never get what they want, yet it's always someone else's fault.

I've seen this in my coaching. Some players will be in a slump and they will step forward and say, "I need to play better." Others will slump and say, "My linemates aren't playing well and it's affecting my game." The players that take responsbility for their own actions, are accountable for their play, are the ones who end up being the best players in the end.

Looking at a company, doesn't matter which one, you can quickly separate the good employees from the bad ones. Mistakes are made every day and things can go bad quickly. Deadlines are missed, orders don't ship on time, you have a bad day in production and poor quality gets past QC, irate customers call and complain, there are all kinds of issues faced on a daily basis. When things start to go "sideways" who steps forward and gets things done?

Is it the guy in QC who says, "I can't catch everything." Or is it the customer service rep who tells the irate customer "it wasn't my fault." These people will be the first to blame a co-worker for a problem or issue that could have been prevented and they are the people you can count on the least to get things done.

The best QC people take responsbility for their actions. They'll say, "It's my job to make sure the product that leaves here is of the best quality and I missed it on this one." They'll talk it through with the production teams and find ways to make sure they don't make the same mistake in the future.

Your best customer service rep will apologize for the problem the customer is having and do what they can to make it right. They are the face of the company and will take responsibility for seeing the corrective action through regardless of whether or not they had anything to do with the actual problem. They know the customer doesn't care whose fault it was and they certainly don't want to hear someone make excuses for themself or their company.

It's easy to blame others when things don't go your way or when you know someone is unhappy with you. Pushing blame onto others only makes things worse. Being honest and taking responsibility for your own actions can be the tougher road to take, but you'll be better for it in the end.