The Blame Game
He’s back….Donald Trump, that is. His television show, The Apprentice, premiered last week. I watched it – more out of curiosity than anything else. The contestants are all formerly employed and currently out of work. They are an eclectic group of people. The show was mildly entertaining for me as an organizational consultant. The dynamics of the groups were very fun to watch. However, once the tasks had been performed and the groups moved into the boardroom to be judged, the show turned ugly.
The blame game started – egged on by “The Donald” himself. When the women’s team lost the challenge, the first question was, “Who is to blame for the loss?” The contestants, who at first seemed pleased with their product, quickly started pointing fingers at the other team members. Loud voices, harsh words, and shifting of personal responsibility were the order of the evening. When most of the fingers pointed to one person, she was fired. Great television drama! Horrible way to live your life!
It’s a complicated world. With so many competing priorities and shrinking resources, we see many people engaging in blaming behavior. They think that by pointing their fingers at others they take to heat off of themselves. I can’t help but wonder if we paid more attention to creating effective teams, supporting each other more, and paying attention to the details of our work, if we wouldn’t find that we would be more effective and happier in our endeavors. Are you blaming more than supporting? Look at your actions this week and see for yourself.
Have a great week!
Tracy
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Tracy Knofla
High Impact Training
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