I talked to a leader that has been at his company for a while, but was recently promoted into a much larger role. He called me to talk through a situation that had identified a process gap because a key person who normally participates in the process was out. Others tried to step in to do it instead, but it ended up creating more issues and the work ultimately had to be done again.
The leader was frustrated that this situation had occurred.
He said I feel like I have two ways to handle this, “I can blame the other people who tried to step in or I can look at it as an opportunity to improve the process.” I asked what if the people who stepped in didn’t know any better and thought they were doing the right thing? He said, “I am sure they didn’t do this intentionally, it just helped me realize we have a gap.”
It is common to want to blame someone else but leaders have to look at this differently.
How can I use this situation to drive a change that will make it better? What can I communicate to demonstrate my visibility as a leader who steps up to drive change? How can I ensure that I am being inclusive with the other group to create a win-win process and not place blame?
This leader wanted to blame someone initially and instead stepped up to establish himself in his new role. He made sure that he not only came up with a new approach but maintained the relationship with the other group. Every interaction is an opportunity to show up as the leader that you want to be. This is a choice that each leader gets to make when a challenging situation happens. What choice will you make?