Here’s a great checklist of Blame vs. Accountability, paraphrased from Meryl Runion.
Blame:
- Examines responsibility in order to condemn and punish
- Focuses only on what went wrong
- Is black and white in its assessment
- Is emotional
- Is personal
Accountability:
- Examines responsibility to discover what can be done differently in the future
- Focuses on what happened and what needs to be corrected
- Explores the complexity of situations
- Is reasonable rather than emotional
- Examines situations, decisions, and behaviors rather than people
If your team could benefit from better accountability skills, click here, and let’s talk!
Comments from recent It’s Not My Fault! Building an Accountable Team learning events.
- “This is the best class I’ve taken this year. If everyone could take this class, it would change our organization.”
- “5 stars! Excellent!”
- “Thanks, Jan, for straight forward, actionable material that will help me drive towards more accountable behavior out of myself and people around me.”
- “Fantastic. Great content and actionable take-aways.”