Leadership 101: Take Ownership!
I believe that one the biggest indicators of TRUE leadership is the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s OWN words, one’s own promises, one’s own decisions and actions. No one disputes that every sitting President inherits challenges that may have occurred on a prior President’s watch (and those decisions made at that time are THAT President’s responsibility.) But true leadership does not look to heap blame upon or deflect responsibility away from oneself and toward those who have not been sitting at your desk occupying YOUR role for over a year. At some point, in EVERYONE’s life, someone ELSE’s responsibility ends and yours begins!
The more one keeps singing the “It’s His/Her/Your/Their Fault” song, the more one necessarily implies his/her own apparent powerlessness over the very issue one keeps crooning about. This does not inspire confidence in such leadership, but a feeling of defeatism and resignation. When one makes bold decisions and takes action on an immense scale, especially involving hundreds of billions of dollars that you yourself authorized, one is necessarily tied to their implications, good or bad.
Americans would respect and, therefore, follow a leader who would humbly channel the spirit of Harry S. Truman and acknowledge, even reaffirm: “The buck stops here!” A better country does begin with “me.” Even when one is President. Especially when one is President.
–Dan Blanchard
