Do You Make Excuses for Your Team?
When I’m consulting with a client, I’m often in uncomfortable situations.
(Well, I’m often the one who creates them.)
Because when things go wrong, I want to know who’s accountable.
Not who’s at fault, necessarily. But who is the person who can tell me what happened, why it happened, and what we can do to fix it.
There’s a certain kind of leader who struggles with that level of accountability.
I know because they are often the first to chime in.
“Well, that’s because…”
“The reason is that…”
“I know this went wrong, but…”
That’s making excuses for your team.
And it’s not helping them. Or you.
***
Making excuses is a response for a perfectly natural, normal, caring individual.
You want to protect your team. You want to stay positive. You don’t want to call someone out or make them feel bad.
That’s really nice. I mean it.
But niceness can be a problem.
When you make an excuse for your team, you’re letting them off the hook.
You’re implicitly telling them that their accountability doesn’t really matter.
Because you will be there to swoop in, save the day, take the heat, and make it all okay for them.
That’s not the way to deal with grown adults. In fact, it’s patronizing—which, I’m sure, is not at all what you intend when you do it.
It undercuts your team’s ability to stand on their own two feet—or learn how to.
Think about it. When do you feel most accomplished? When do you learn your most important lessons?
When something is hard, or goes wrong. And you struggle, but then you succeed.
Making excuses robs an employee of that entire journey, that opportunity for growth and development.
Right motivation. Wrong response.
***
When you run a business, there is always an excuse. Let’s face it, companies are messes.
There’s always another fire to put out. Another unhappy client. Another broken process. Another thing that’s going wrong.
Companies are underfunded, underresourced, and underprocessed.
It’s…the way of things.
And you need people who are willing to do their absolute best in that imperfect environment. People who are willing to perform anyway and not let the challenges (which will never go away) become the excuses.
There’s always another “yeah, but…”
But “yeah, but” doesn’t pay the bills.
***
I know it’s hard to sit on your hands when a team member is under fire.
(And to that end, I’m not giving anyone permission to be disrespectful, rude, or condescending. You can have accountability and still be caring and polite.)
The best thing you can do: let the person who’s accountable answer their own questions. Because they probably have a better idea of what’s going on. And very possible a better idea of how to fix it.
If there’s a major obstacle, a real excuse, give your team the space to speak up for it. They need to learn to be advocates for themselves.
Otherwise you’re making decisions for them, and that’s not protecting them. It’s taking away their ownership.
Remember that in discomfort, people grow.
Even you.
If you’re struggling with team dynamics, this is the perfect time of year for a reset. Contact our consulting team to see how we can help you create a culture of accountability.
