I recently witnessed a leadership moment that left me shaking my head. A CEO, standing in front of a large crowd, pointed to a fellow C-level executive and declared,
“If anything goes wrong with this initiative, that's the person to blame.”
Now, let's pause for a moment.
This wasn't a lighthearted joke. It wasn't said with a wink and a nudge. It was a clear and public shifting of responsibility onto one individual.
The first thought that came to mind was: If that's how leadership operates, why even call it an “executive team”?
The Failure of Blame-Based Leadership
Public blame-shifting isn't just unprofessional–it's a failure of leadership. When a leader singles out an individual for potential failure, they erode trust, create fear, and stifle innovation. In contrast, great leaders cultivate an environment where accountability is shared, learning is encouraged, and failures are seen as opportunities for improvement.
A strong leadership team should function as a cohesive unit. They should be a team, not a collection of silo leaders.
When one member falters, the others step in–not to assign blame, but to find solutions. A CEO who throws a colleague under the bus in front of an audience isn't fostering accountability; they're fostering defensiveness and disengagement.
I never interacted with the CEO at the time, but the blame game was strong at GM 30 years ago when I worked there:
Accountability vs. Blame
Accountability means taking responsibility for results–good or bad–and using them as a basis for improvement. Blame, on the other hand, is about assigning fault without looking at systemic factors or opportunities for growth.
Leaders who truly embrace accountability don't pass the buck. Instead, they:
- Create a Culture of Psychological Safety – When people feel safe admitting mistakes or performance shortfalls, they're more likely to learn from them. Harvard researcher Amy Edmondson has shown that psychologically safe teams perform better because they're willing to take risks and admit missteps without fear of humiliation.
- Use “We” Instead of “They” – Effective leaders understand that challenges are faced together. Instead of saying, “If something goes wrong, it's on them,” they say, “If we encounter obstacles, we'll work through them together.”
- Frame Mistakes as Learning Opportunities – A Lean leader doesn't fear mistakes; they embrace them as fuel for continuous improvement. As I wrote in The Mistakes That Make Us, organizations that normalize learning from failure build resilience and adaptability.
- Focus on Process, Not Just People – Often, failures are not the result of a single person's misstep, but a breakdown in process. Leaders who adopt Lean thinking know that improving systems–not blaming individuals–is the key to sustainable success.
A Challenge for Leaders
If you're in a leadership role, ask yourself:
- Do I take responsibility for team failures, or do I distance myself from them?
- Do I encourage open dialogue about mistakes, or do I create an environment where people fear being blamed?
- Am I fostering accountability in a way that drives learning, or am I simply looking for a scapegoat?
Accountability is not about finding someone to blame when things go wrong. It's about creating an environment where people feel empowered to take ownership of their work–without fear of public humiliation. True leadership is about standing together, not standing apart when challenges arise.
What have you seen in your organization? How do your leaders handle accountability? Let's keep the conversation going in the comments below.
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