Routinely apologizing for other people’s actions is not leadership.

➡ But apologizing when YOU make a mistake is.

Internalizing the missed expectations of your team as personal failure and shame is not leadership.

➡ But admitting where things went wrong and taking action to learn from them and make better decisions in the future is.

Believing and behaving like the entire project, program, or organization rests on your shoulders and yours alone is not leadership.

➡ But recognizing that each team member has a critical role in the success of the initiative is.

Of course I understand there are nuanced situations that can complicate things.

Sometimes we may feel like we need to apologize for our team because we missed a deadline and our boss is angry and that's the quickest and easiest way to get a reprieve.

We may also have been told (and believe) that the buck stops with us, so we begin to internalize all successes and failures as ours personally.

But leadership isn't about getting dumped on and absorbing it all yourself.

Sure, there's a different level of personal responsibility as a leader, but along with that comes a healthy dose of boundaries and self-respect. ⭐

❓ What do you think? What misunderstandings have you seen around "leadership?"