Rules Of Management

RULE 15 - Give credit to the team when it deserves it

“It is amazing how much you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

Harry Truman, US President (1945-53)

Just as you must always stand up and take the blame, so too must you always heap praise and credit on your team when the things go well. If that fabulous sale to Client X comes off because you happened to stay up all night working on it and then used an old contract from previous job and then swung it because you happened to know something the competition didn’t – why, then you say, ‘The team did it’.

Taking the blame does generate loads of loyalty, but so too does giving the team the credit. Say it loudly, in public, sincerely, but do say it. And don’t do it tongue in check with ‘My team did it’, as if you are giving credit but making sure everyone knows who really was responsible. The implication that it is your team isn’t necessary. Everyone knows it is your team so there is no need to mention it, ever. It is OK to say, ’It did a great job, it is a fantastic team. I’m incredibly lucky to have it.’ This implies you had nothing to do with it and yet everyone knows it is your team and you are its leader so the team will love and everyone else will think you incredibly humble and self-effacing. Well done you.

Again, all this takes courage and a lot of self-confidence, I know. You work hard and it doesn’t seem fair to give the credit away. I know that you really want to stand up and shout, ‘Look, it was me, I did this, all by myself, OK?’ But you can’t. You see, you didn’t do it all by yourself, no matter how much you might believe that. If you are selling, then it is the team that built the product you are selling. Without that team you would have rubbish to sell. Tell the team that selling the product was a doddle because it had done such a good job. It will glow with pride and redouble its efforts.

“Without that team you would have rubbish to sell.”

posted by Right Ranger @ 6:13 PM