Why Pointing The Finger Doesn’t Work For Leaders

There are times when we all want to point the finger.

A teammate drops the ball but struggles to take responsibility.

A client issues support tickets about things that were their own fault.

A deal falls through because of a last-minute stakeholder that “doesn’t get it”.

You choose who has control to make change happen.

You’re pointing at them.

The teammate, if pointed at, now has the power to fix the problem, or not. Nothing you can do about it if you give up the control to make change happen. Point at yourself, though, and you’ll enable yourself to lead that person to become their best self. One where they can see what they couldn’t previously.

The unruly client, if pointed at, now has the power to continue their unbridled ticket-making. If they are to decide, they’ll decide based on what they understand. Point at yourself, though, and you’ll enable yourself to better educate that client, revealing things they hadn’t seen before.

The lost deal, if pointed at, now has the power to be repeated in your future. “It’s another bad prospect,” you’ll cry, with increasing frequency. Point at yourself, though, and you’ll enable yourself to learn to better equip your team, your process, and those you wish to serve, with the understanding of what greatness really looks like.

“Pointing the finger” assigns control, not blame. Who’s it to be?