"I messed up" – the words of a leader
Netflix has been and will be written about extensively. I won’t write much but just want to highlight how Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings began his recent customer communication:
“I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation.”
Notice he didn’t say “We messed up.” Nope – it was “I”.
There is so much talk today about holding corporations and executives accountable. Although that accountability is often focused on criminal behavior, or just overall horrible performance, there is plenty leaders do to hold themselves accountable. And they don’t have to fire themselves for that to happen.
There are a few phrases that I think leaders can use that are powerful. One is “I don’t know.” The other, and perhaps the most powerful, is:
“It’s my fault.”
Do you hold yourself accountable? Do you accept responsibility? And do you have someone around you to help you recognize when you should?
I got the same email this morning from the Netflix CEO. The exact same thing jumped out at me. It was refreshing to not only see the leader taking responsibility but to get an explanation of what has been going on and why. I have been a customer of Netflix for 4 years now and I was not happy when with the rate increase, but it does help me understanding their reasoning and their plan.
I try to hold myself accountable when a team I am leading doesn’t achieve its goals. I have found the rest of team respects me as a leader when I do this instead of trying to point the finger. In the long run that would be more detrimental to becoming a leader anyway.
I got the same email this morning from the Netflix CEO. The exact same thing jumped out at me. It was refreshing to not only see the leader taking responsibility but to get an explanation of what has been going on and why. I have been a customer of Netflix for 4 years now and I was not happy when with the rate increase, but it does help me understanding their reasoning and their plan.
I try to hold myself accountable when a team I am leading doesn’t achieve its goals. I have found the rest of team respects me as a leader when I do this instead of trying to point the finger. In the long run that would be more detrimental to becoming a leader anyway.
I got the same email this morning from the Netflix CEO. The exact same thing jumped out at me. It was refreshing to not only see the leader taking responsibility but to get an explanation of what has been going on and why. I have been a customer of Netflix for 4 years now and I was not happy when with the rate increase, but it does help me understanding their reasoning and their plan.
I try to hold myself accountable when a team I am leading doesn’t achieve its goals. I have found the rest of team respects me as a leader when I do this instead of trying to point the finger. In the long run that would be more detrimental to becoming a leader anyway.
I would add that it would have been even better if he said that he owed everyone an apology, not just an explanation. But I’m nitpicking.
I would add that it would have been even better if he said that he owed everyone an apology, not just an explanation. But I’m nitpicking.
I would add that it would have been even better if he said that he owed everyone an apology, not just an explanation. But I’m nitpicking.
For the record, although I’m not a customer and not that close to it, I don’t agree with the actual decisions that Netflix is making. I was just calling out the right move from the leader in terms of communication.
Here’s two good posts on Netflix, of the probably 1,000 that are out there.
How Netflix is Losing its Evangelists http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/09/how_netflix_lost_its_evangelis.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29
and the Oatmeal’s hilarious Why Netflix is splitting itself in two
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/netflix
For the record, although I’m not a customer and not that close to it, I don’t agree with the actual decisions that Netflix is making. I was just calling out the right move from the leader in terms of communication.
Here’s two good posts on Netflix, of the probably 1,000 that are out there.
How Netflix is Losing its Evangelists http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/09/how_netflix_lost_its_evangelis.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29
and the Oatmeal’s hilarious Why Netflix is splitting itself in two
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/netflix
For the record, although I’m not a customer and not that close to it, I don’t agree with the actual decisions that Netflix is making. I was just calling out the right move from the leader in terms of communication.
Here’s two good posts on Netflix, of the probably 1,000 that are out there.
How Netflix is Losing its Evangelists http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/09/how_netflix_lost_its_evangelis.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+harvardbusiness+%28HBR.org%29
and the Oatmeal’s hilarious Why Netflix is splitting itself in two
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/netflix