It's been a LONG time.. but, I'm back.....
Don’t Make Excuses! Take Responsibility!
My son is always on a mission in school to attain the
behavior grade daily. Each day they are graded on their behavior using a color
coded system. Pink is the highest, Purple 2nd highest and the list
goes on until Red. The Joy of the 1st
Grade!
This week he came home from school and he was not his normal
cheerful self. I asked him what was wrong? I wanted to get on Pink! I said,
what color did you get? “Green!” he pouted. I told him green was good. But he proceeded with I wanted Pink! So I
asked what happened in school today that you attained green instead of pink? He
started to share a few things about the color where he started, then he was
lowered to yellow, for not listening, then he clipped back up to green again.
Then he started to talk about Timmy and Jimmy, and Joey (not the real names)
and how Timmy didn’t want him to get on Pink so he said this and that, and it
was also Jimmy’s fault because xyz, and he started to talk about Joey and I stopped
him. I said, I want to know why you did not get on Pink, if that was your goal.
I told him, I do not want to hear about Timmy and Jimmy and Joey. I want to
hear about what you did. So tell me again, what happened that prevented you
from getting on Pink, you said something earlier about listening. What was the
reason? In a very low sad, pouty voice
he said “Yes.” I said to him, Okay, so what do you need to do in order to get
on Pink? “ Listen”
In my son’s case he realized that it is important to
understand what he did wrong in order to attain his goal of getting on Pink
which is the highest level of behavior in the classroom. As adults and leaders
why is it so hard to take responsibility for our actions? The time for excuses is
over. When you make a mistake as a leader, own that mistake. When you make that
mistake as a friend, mother, father, sister, brother, mentor, or any other
capacity.. own that mistake. Don’t blame the team, don’t blame other leaders,
don’t even try to blame life situations. Why? Integrity. Yes, you could take
the easy way out and blame others, but as leaders and parents and Christians shouldn’t
we aim higher?
Of course this week having worked with my son on the challenge of
taking responsibility for his actions, I had an encounter with a fellow leader.
I questioned the leader about why he did not essentially do his job and I am
sure you know what his response was… Excuses, Excuses, and more Excuses! He
never once shared that he took responsibility and that he indeed was in the
wrong. It was everyone else’s fault, but his. I said to myself after he explained every
excuse under the sun from how long it takes him to get to work to it being another
leader’s fault.. “God, how did it come to this in your ministry?” How is it
that leaders in ministry don’t realize?”
What we do and say as humans and leaders is a reflection of
who we really area. Proverbs 27: 19 says As a
face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person. It’s your
heart that people see, and they can see your heart through how you live your
life.
We have to be higher and live a life that is better than excuses.
When we accept our own excuses, it means that we have no honor and honesty. But
when we accept that we are not perfect, we can make mistakes, and we can learn
from our short comings, then we can live a life of Integrity. Then we can model
the behavior that we want our teams to live by. Then we can model the behavior we
want our children and our children’s children to live by. Would you rather your leader provide an excuse
every time or simply be honest and say “ I really messed up” and “ I will do my
best to learn from this experience?”
It ultimately starts with taking responsibility. I am ready
to be accountable for all areas of my life. I am ready to take responsibility.
I want to live life with a pure heart so when people see me, they see my heart.
Ephesians 5: 15 So be careful how you
live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
I am ready to take Responsibility, Are you???
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ReplyDeleteThank you! I know that I have not taken responsibility at times. As a leader and mother and many other things I want my life to reflect more than excuses....
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