It’s hard to take the blame. Whether taking the blame has serious consequences or not, we tend to have our prides wrapped up in always being right which makes admitting to wrongdoing way more difficult.
It’s even harder to take the blame for something that you didn’t do. Maybe a co-worker never got you an email that you needed and a client is angry because something didn’t get done. Maybe your employee messed something up and a client saw it.
So why should you take the blame? Because it builds goodwill. Because it shows character. Because you’re a “team player”. Because your boss probably really knows who’s to blame anyway. Because it makes a great leader. Most of the time, there are no repercussions for these little acts and it will show a character that most people don’t have.
This also means passing the gratitude. Let someone else take the credit for that little win or a happy client. Let your employee get the credit and don’t try and claim it was your “leadership”. Let someone else take the credit and enjoy the win – most projects in a company are successful because a lot of people pitched in anyway.
If you take the blame and pass the gratitude you will have much better relationships with your coworkers and it will display rare character.