Last week I had the chance to attend an Oz Principal leadership workshop with my fellow managers. There were a variety of topics covered, and fellow Director Matt Fitts wrote on one of the topics covered.
I wanted to take the opportunity to discuss one of the other main principles of the workshop, accountability. One of the biggest things that stuck with me during this workshop was the mindset that individuals share as it relates to accountability within their organization. Either you’re “Above The Line” or you’re “Below The Line” when it comes to situations you encounter during the work day.
When someone is ‘above the line’, they tend to analyze a situation and determine what “they” need to do in order to either solve or execute on the task put in front of them. The individuals that are ‘below the line’ typically look at a problem and think about all of the excuses they can come up with to deflect blame. From finger pointing, covering your tail, ignoring the problem or saying it’s not my job- are all different examples of what we tend to do when our mindset is not in the right place.
This got me to thinking of the many situations I’ve been in where things haven’t necessarily gone the way I would have expected. I’d have to admit that on a few occasions my reaction would have been classified as below the line. Rather than thinking about what “I” could have done differently in those situations, my focus was more on the areas that I perceived were out of my control. Whether it was the down economy, an ineffective sales rep or an unresponsive vertical, I had placed blame on something else when I should have immediately thought about what I could have done differently first to effect a positive change.
Dan Waldschmidt did a great job of summing up what kind of commitment we need to make in order to meet and exceed our goals in his blog post Success is 75% Physical, 75% Mental. In his post, Dan mentions that sometimes it takes everything you have, and more, to achieve something awesome.
When we think we’ve done an adequate job and we’ve not been successful, do you ever think you could have done more?
There have probably been many times in our career where we feel we’ve put in 100% effort doing things the way we normally would in the past. In those cases, it may require us to think outside our comfort zone in order to get the true results we’re shooting for. For example: rather than thinking “It’s Not My Job”, why not help the other colleague/department/manager with whatever they may be struggling with in order to help the team out as a whole. It may not be a comfortable process for you, but think of it as a learning opportunity which will ultimately help you to achieve the goals you’re shooting for.
So, where is your head at? Are you holding yourself accountable? Could you give more? Are you thinking above the line?
My feeling is that most of us, if we were honest with ourselves, recognize that we always have a little more room to give.
