ON LEADERSHIP: Considering the give and take of leadership

Life, as they say, is a game of give and take. You put things in and you take things out. Leadership can be similar — both give and take. But it’s important to understand what you may be giving or taking at any given time.

In a WorkLife with Adam Grant podcast, Adam had an interesting discussion with Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on what both weak and strong leaders give and take. Their conversation spurred me to more fully consider what the leadership give and take might be.

Weak Leaders

According to Kallas, weak leaders give blame and take credit.

When giving blame and taking the credit is part of your leadership style, a whole list of potential consequences can arise, including:

• Trust erosion. Blaming others and taking the credit undermines trust within a team or organization. It creates a culture of fear and defensiveness, where employees become hesitant to take risks or offer innovative ideas. It can also result in anger and resentment when a leader doesn’t openly acknowledge or value the contributions of others.

• Decreased morale. Blame from a leader creates a negative work environment, where individuals feel demotivated, undervalued, and unsupported. And when team members’ contributions go unrecognized, employees will feel unappreciated.

• Diminished accountability. Blame hinders the development of a culture of accountability, where employees are encouraged to take ownership of their actions and learn from mistakes. This permeates the entire team, which receives the message loud and clear that if you stay under the radar and not take accountability, the blame won’t be directed at you. And if you’re taking all the credit for a job well done, employees will say “why bother?”

• Weakened collaboration. Blaming others deflects attention away from the leader’s own accountability. When team members perceive their leader as someone who prioritizes personal recognition over collective success, it hinders collaboration and creates a competitive rather than cooperative atmosphere.

All of these consequences lead to a toxic work environment filled with fear and insecurity, with decreased productivity and engagement, and increased stress levels with a higher likelihood of burnout.

Strong Leaders

Strong leaders, by comparison, give trust and take responsibility. The result is the opposite of the examples above.  Morale, accountability and collaboration all increase. In addition, employee engagement, innovation, and retention rates will all improve.

Strong leaders are comfortable in their own skin and focus on building up the team. The way Kallas explained responsibility was to be totally accountable. A great example of leadership accountability was in the 2015 Super Bowl when the Seattle Sea Hawks were on the one-yard line with seconds left in the game. Instead of executing a safer running play, a pass play was called and New England intercepted, resulting in the Sea Hawks’ loss. It was referred to at the dumbest call in Super Bowl history.

When the team got into the locker room, Coach Pete Carroll took total responsibility for the result. If you want your team to take responsibility and be accountable, you must demonstrate it first.

As you reflect upon your leadership give and take, focus more on giving trust and taking responsibility. You will set a good example and help the entire team be more successful.

Joni S. Naugle is the founder and president of Naugle Associates LLC, Reading, where she works with clients on leadership, strategy and organizational effectiveness. She leads executive peer groups through an alliance with Vistage Worldwide.