Perhaps one small flaw or behavior we barely even recognize is the only thing that’s keeping us from where we want to be. In his book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”, Marshall Goldsmith has a “to stop” list rather than one listing what “to do”. This “to stop” list is designed to help us overcome our unconscious annoying habits and become more successful. Here’s one habit we can strive to overcome.
Passing the buck is one of those terrifying hybrid flaws. Take a healthy dose of needing to win and making excuses. Mix it with refusing to apologies and failing to give proper recognition. Sprinkle in a faint hint of punish the messenger and getting angry. And what you end up with is passing the buck. Blaming others for our mistakes.
A leader who cannot shoulder the blame is not someone we will follow blindly into battle. We instinctively question that individual’s character, dependability, and loyalty to us. And so we hold back on our loyalty to him or her.
Unlike the other subtle flaws, passing the buck is one of those obviously unattractive personal habits — as obvious as belching in public.
Passing the buck is the dark flip side of claiming credit that others deserve. Instead of depriving others of their rightful glory for a success, we wrongfully saddle them with the shame of our failure.
And unlike other flaws, which we’re rarely aware of, we don’t need other people to point out that we’re passing the buck. We’re well aware of it. We know we must shoulder the blame for failure, but we can’t bring ourselves to do it. So we find a scapegoat.
Infallibility is a myth. No one expects us to be right all the time. But when we’re wrong, they certainly expect us to own up to it. In that sense, being wrong is an opportunity — an opportunity to show what kind of person and leader we are.
How well you own up your mistakes makes a bigger impression than how you revel in your successes.
If passing the buck is your challenge, no matter how much you think you’re saving the hide, you’re actually killing it.
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