The Buck Stops Here

“The buck stops here” is a phrase that was popularised by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who kept a sign with that phrase on his desk in the Oval Office in the White House. At that time, the phrase referred to his notion that when he made decisions, that he had to accept responsibility for those decisions. That is, he couldn’t pass the blame for bad decisions onto others yet keep the credit for good decisions to him. He couldn’t pass the buck, or play the blame game and state that someone else was responsible for the decisions he made”. - Joyce E. A. Russell

Great leaders understand that they are not only responsible for their own decisions and actions but also the decisions and actions of their entire team. Whether you are willing or unwillingly, this is the “raw part of the deal” when it comes to assuming a leadership position. This is because leaders are responsible for the culture that they create within their teams; and so even though it is difficult to know all the decisions and actions that are being taken within a team, it falls on the leader to ensure that he or she builds a strong team culture guided by supporting policies and systems that will guide the decision making process and actions taken by team members.

Here are some hot tips to help you become a responsible leader:

1. Understand that your role as a leader is to empower, mentor and coach your team into making sound decisions and grow within their respective roles. Developing your team is critical to the long term success of the school and is a worthwhile investment.
2. Provide your team with necessary resources, training and policies that they need to meet their targets and perform their duties. These support structures will also provide guidance when they make mistakes so that they can improve and/or be held accountable.
3. Welcome and encourage diversity of thought and collaboration amongst the team to ensure ideas are fully fleshed out before implementation. This can help the team avoid unnecessary mistakes as well as give the team a sense of ownership in the decisions being made and implemented across the school.
4. Acknowledge and take ownership of your personal as well as team’s mistakes so that your team knows that you do not view yourself as above making mistakes and instead are willing to learn from the mistakes. Great leaders take the blame when things do not go well and praise the team when things go well.
5. Be prepared to handle all the issues, problems and challenges as as and when they arise. A great leader not only plans ahead but puts in place contingency plans for any issues that might come up along the way.