Membership and the "Blame Game"

The Blame Game

The Blame Game is present in every organization to some degree. Often, the blame isn't fair or based on fact. Personality, misguided individuals, confusion about roles and responsibilities, and power struggles influence how credit and blame are given. Too often, the wrong people get blamed for the wrong reasons at the wrong time. The result can demotivate and demoralize. It sidetracks the focus and every minute spent playing the blame game is time lost in fixing the problem.

Whose fault is it?

When things are not going well, it must be someone's fault, so the finger pointing begins. Our workplace has been plagued with this culture for several years. This has allowed an "us against them" culture to grow like bacteria in a Petri dish. As the saying goes, "Is it working for you?" The state of things suggest that it isn't. So, how do we help each other understand our individual responsibility to the success of the organization and realize that every time we point a finger at someone else, four are pointing back?

From the perspective of staff, there is a lack of ownership. The success of the association is placed solely at the feet of the "hired help" without a shared commitment by all stakeholders.

People duck responsibility for reasons ranging from a fear of failure, a sense of feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, or any reason that allows them to feel ok about themselves. Whatever the reason, unless all stakeholders take personal responsibility for the success of the association, they'll fail in their job or role in the association; they'll fail to meet their obligations and they'll fail those to whom they are responsible. In the end, the biggest losers are public education, educators and our children.