"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Eleanor Roosevelt said that, and it's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Perhaps it is because I've been hearing so many stories about people blaming their own choices on someone else, or on circumstance.
"If only my CEO would.... I could...."
"I wouldn't have to sneak around if only....."
"If things were not so hard I wouldn't have to resort to...."
"If only my boss wasn't such a jerk, I wouldn't have to..."
Yes, it is true that other people can make our lives more difficult. And yes, it is also true that sometimes in life the deck is stacked against us. But we're not victims. We can still choose to act with respect and integrity, even when it isn't easy.
That's leadership.
It's OK in our society to blame behavior on someone else. Homeowners in crisis blame the mortgage companies for loaning them too much money. Mortgage companies blame the financial analysts for being too greedy. Financial analysts blame homeowners for taking on too much risk.
We're all human and we're going to screw up now and again. But it seems more popular to be the victim of someone else's error than to own up for our part of the problem. When you play the role of Victim, you are surrendering your power to someone else. "I am this way because they made it so."
Let's take back our power leaders. We are in charge of our own choices. Even when those choices are not ideal, we can still take responsibility for acting with integrity.
Just had to get that off my chest. :)
I couldn't agree more. Leaders, indeed everyone, need to accept responsibility for their own lives and their own actions. Making mistakes is a good thing as it enables us to learn. As the saying goes, the person that's never made a mistake has never tried anything.
Posted by: Adi @ The Management Blog | July 02, 2009 at 08:10 AM