Responsibility Erases the Blame Game

None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. The mark of a leader and a mature person is the ability to step up to the situation and take responsibility for their part.

Taking responsibility does not mean becoming a door mat or letting people walk all over them. It means accepting your rightful share of the results – good or bad. Jim Rohn, noted business philosopher, reminds us to accept the harvest of rewards without apology when the results are good and without complaint when they are not good.

In business it is all too common to hear the blame game in full force. “I want to change sponsors; my sponsor doesn’t help me.” Or I hear, “My sponsor doesn’t return my calls or emails; I just can’t get any help.” Actually in my company there are over 24 live training calls every week, over 100 hours of current recorded training calls, extensive video and text training, business coaches and a very active forum for questions. The sponsor is not the only source of information and assistance. Yes, having an informed and responsive sponsor is very important, but the sponsor is not the only source of training.

Bottom line is that when you start a home based business, a brick and mortar business or a franchise, it is your business. You have responsibility to learn the training provided and take action on that training. Sitting back and saying, ”come do it for me” is not taking responsibility.

A new business owner will have a learning curve. Learning curves are a part of life. Every time we start something new, there is a learning curve. Some things have a shorter curve than others to be certain, but they all require some effort. You can read about riding a bike. You can watch someone ride a bike. Sooner or later if you really want to learn how to ride a bike you have to get on the bike and start riding. Will you fall over? Yes. Get back on and start peddling again. Having your sponsor tell you how to ride or even watching the sponsor ride will not complete the step of you learning how to ride.

As long as the blame game is in full force, no real learning will occur and probably no real progress either. Progress occurs when you step out of your comfort zone and dig in and start learning and taking action.

Playing the blame game is avoiding responsibility. Leaders and top producers never waste time and energy on non-productive emotions, actions or words. Blaming others is an absolute waste of energy. Leaders take responsibility.