Everybody Wants To Wear The Apron
A single cook can prepare a meal.
Put six cooks in the same kitchen and, before long, you'd probably end up with a sloppy Joe.
Not because they can't cook.
Because they've spent half the morning discussing the recipe.
Boardrooms aren't all that different.
Some meetings produce decisions.
Others produce minutes.
The really memorable ones produce another meeting.
Everyone has an opinion.
Everyone has a suggestion.
Everyone has a slightly different way of doing the same thing.
Curiously, very few people volunteer to own the outcome if it all goes wrong.
Titles are popular.
Responsibility...
Less so.
Some people enjoy the appearance of leadership far more than the practice of it.
They like being consulted.
They like being copied into emails.
They like chairing meetings.
They like having the final word.
What they don't always like is standing up when the decision turns out to be the wrong one.
Delegation is a management skill.
Abandonment isn't.
There's a difference between trusting people to do the work...
...and quietly disappearing when the work becomes difficult.
Responsibility can't be delegated quite as easily as the work.
Sooner or later, somebody still has to own the decision.
That's usually where the room becomes noticeably quieter.
Some people collect titles.
Others collect responsibility.
Only one group usually earns respect.
Leadership isn't measured by how many people report to you.
It's measured by what you're prepared to stand behind when things don't go according to plan.
Anybody can give instructions.
Not everybody is willing to carry the weight that comes with them.
That's where the difference lies.
The strongest leaders don't constantly remind everyone they're in charge.
In fact, they rarely have to.
They're usually too busy solving problems, supporting their team and accepting responsibility when things don't quite work out.
The others often spend more time managing appearances than managing outcomes.
Curiously, they're never very far away when something goes well.
Credit, after all, is easiest to collect once somebody else has done the heavy lifting.
Success has a remarkable ability to attract extra contributors after the fact.
Failure...
Not so much.
It's amazing how quickly a busy boardroom can become strangely quiet when accountability walks through the door.
Nobody seems entirely sure whose idea it was.
Nobody remembers making the decision.
Everyone suddenly becomes very interested in the wording of the meeting minutes.
That's usually your clue.
Authority without accountability isn't leadership.
It's theatre.
The best leaders understand something remarkably simple.
If the team succeeds, the credit belongs to the team.
If the team fails, the responsibility belongs to the leader.
It's never been the other way around.
Fortunately, these things have a habit of revealing themselves over time.
You don't need to expose them.
Patterns are patient.
People eventually notice who carries the responsibility...
...and who only carries the title.
After all...
They tend to arrive once the applause starts.
Let's see who's left clapping.
Everyone wants the authority. Far fewer want the accountability.
Run. Accountability. Run.
Implied. Never Declared.
Everyone Has Style. Not All Have Presence.