Value Reliability? Stop Your Team From Passing the Buck

Passing the buck.

It’s a great  English idiom  - and we’re not talking about the strength of the dollar.

Not passing the buck means transparency, accountability, reliability…it all comes down to actually making good on what we say we are going to do, and taking responsibility when we don’t. Organizations of all shapes and sizes are taking this more and more seriously these days, partly because the Internet makes it possible for staff, clients and partners to keep tabs and give feedback like never before. But more importantly, good things come out of taking pride in our work and holding ourselves to a high standard. Demanding reliability and accountability is just plain old good policy.

Some great illustrations of the phrase itself, before we get into the thought-provoking bit:

So, how does this play out for the team leader or the project manager? The executive or the business manager?

It’s called starting with the man (or woman) in the mirror.

A recent joint study by a couple of business school professors from USC and Stanford actually proves that passing the buck behavior is contagious, in a way. Basically, the more we see our leaders passing the buck and playing the blame game, the more likely we are to do it ourselves. Makes sense. Writer and erstwhile lawyer Adriana Gardella provided a quick recap of the study for management site bnet.com (she also writes on management and career issues for The New York Times).

Bottom line, if you want to see more reliability and responsibility in your organization, department or team, start with yourself. Have you ever heard yourself make an excuse when you should have owned up?

If it rings true, consider the precedent you are setting. Don’t be a leader that lives by the tired maxim “Do as I say and not as I do,” instead, engender respect and accountability in your team by leading by example – make sure the bucks stops with you.