Daily Archives: September 25, 2014

Step up and take responsibility

not meI’m sure you have seen a situation when a problem occurs, , , no one seems to know how or why it occurred.

You hear things like:
“It wasn’t me.”, , , “They must have caused it.”, , , “I don’t know .”

No one wants to fault others for problems that occur. But a small fact exists, , , strong leaders take responsibility and hold themselves accountable, , , weak leaders pass the buck.

When a problem occurs, I look at myself or my organization first and ask, “Is there anything we (or I) did or possibly something we didn’t do that created this problem?”

On the other hand, a transparent manager will always deflect a problem to someone else, even his own staff. Transparent managers take credit for good things and pass the blame for problems.

Guess how much credibility transparent managers have with their clients and more importantly their staff, , , little to no credibility.

Strong managers take the hit when problems occur and they go further by identifying what they are doing to get the train back on the track and to prevent similar problems in the future.

trainManagers who “own the responsibility” instill confidence and respect plus the all important credibility because they hold themselves and their organizations accountable, , , then they do things to improve.

Bottom line: Give your people credit for successes and take the responsibility yourself for failures, , , it will reward you with trust and loyalty over time.

Preparing for next week’s IT Manager Institute class

Next week I travel to Carrollton, GA to deliver our 65th IT Manager Institute for 18 managers at Tanner Health System.

Even though I have delivered the class 64 times including six times this year, I always use a checklist to prepare for each class to insure all goes as planned.

Tanner_Class_ToDoMy Institute Class Checklist

I’m a big believer in tools and templates for three simple reasons:

  1. Makes it easier
  2. Improves quality
  3. Reduces stress

Makes it easier
Probably my primary reason to develop any tool is to make work easier. I remember the first time I delivered an IT Manager Institute, , , there was a lot of last minute effort to pull it all together. Today, it’s so much simpler and easier with a checklist.

Improves quality
Tools like my IT Manager Institute To Do List shown above help insure everything is done to prepare or complete a project. I never show up at a class and find that I have “missed something we need to deliver the program successfully” if I have checked off each of the items on the list.

Reduces stress
I didn’t realize the benefit tools have in “reducing stress” early in my career, but now I fully understand that making work easier and insuring the work will be complete is a tremendous stress reducer.  As they say in Australia, “No worries!”.

The Institute To Do List above includes anything from insuring I pack my passport and the appropriate electrical adapter for an overseas trip to putting clothes in the cleaners and getting a haircut. I also insure certain things are done with “time to spare” by listing completion time frames weeks ahead of the event.

I print an Institute To Do List and put it in my class folder for every class I schedule. It saves time preparing, , , makes it easier, , , eliminates every bit of stress, , , and guarantees I show up ready to go.

IT Manager ToolKitMy IT Manager ToolKit contains more than 100 tools and templates that were developed to help me manage and monitor IT organizations. Learn more.