The Mind Takeaway Podcast - Leadership, Psychology and Creativity

When we blame others, we stop listening and give away any chance of finding solutions.

In this 12 minute Micro Episode, we explore the transformative power of taking responsibility and ownership for our actions.

Timestamps and Takeaways

01:12 When we were kids, we learned that if we blame someone else, we won't get punished, whether we had something to do with the situation or not.

01:48 It's not that we are bad people; we often blame others as a protective mechanism; however, we understand the impact of blaming others on our teams, the company and ourselves.

02:14 When we blame others, we disempower ourselves, and it stops people from being able to trust you as a leader (it's the opposite of psychological safety)

02:29 Your people will copy your behaviour, both the positive things you would like them to continue and the negative things you might want them to stop.

03:08 When you take responsibility for your actions and show a willingness to look for solutions, you create the right conditions for others to do the same in your team.

04:27 You may not be the cause of an issue, but you are more likely to resolve it as an individual, as a team, as a company if you are willing to look at the options with other people and think ok what we can do?

04:42 When we are angry and fearful in the moment, it can look like there are no options, and that is when we need to slow down, take a step back and breathe.

05:24 It can be painful to accept responsibility when looking back into the past; however, this is the only way to resolve trauma. And avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

06:43 By blaming others, we stop listening to others, stifle creativity and limit the possibility of finding solutions to problems.

08:04 When we take the role of victim and blame others, we resolve ourselves from any power to anything about it.

08:16 Playing the martyr and taking responsibility for absolutely everything can lead to isolation and create a toxic environment.

10:38 Blaming others also prevents your team from growing as they will not feel safe enough to learn from their own mistakes.