Leaders of Character Don’t Have a Victim Mentality
The victim mentality is everywhere. In business, in non-profits, in schools, and in homes that mentality destroys any opportunity for team and individual success.
When a leader embraces the victim mentality, the best case scenario is the leader will be marginalized and ignored. The worst case scenario is the rest of the team become victims as well.
Identifying the Victim Mentality
It is not too hard to identify someone who lives as a victim. They use rationalization to explain away their own failures. They usually start rationalizing with phrases like:
- How could I have known…
- The media, the culture, the millennials…
- That wasn’t in my department…
- You don’t understand…
- These quota’s are unreasonable…
- The teacher doesn’t like me…
- Am I supposed to be a baby-sitter…
- That’s just how things are done…
- That’s just who they are…
These rationalizations are actually excuses. They shift blame away from the leader on to something they claim is outside of their control. The victim mentality declares:
“There was nothing I could do. Therefore I have nothing to learn from this.”
But, perhaps the easiest way to identify a victim is to examine their results. The leader with a victim mentality is usually the same person who never raises themselves or their team above mediocrity.
Defeating the Victim Mentality
A Leader of Character never takes on the role of a victim. They believe there are no excuses for failure, just opportunities to learn and get better. They don’t look for ways to deflect blame. Instead, they look for lessons and for teaching opportunities.
Seizing accountability sets up the leader and the team to get better. Each time the leader takes ownership, they inspire the team to do the same thing.
Therefore each time the leader defeats the victim mentality, they take another step closer to becoming a Leader of Character who leads a Team of Character.
The Bottom Line
Leaders of Character inspire followers to be accountable – not to be victims.
Leaders in businesses, non-profits, schools and homes are called to a higher level of accountability. To be a Leader of Character, we must recognize our moral obligation to defeat the victim mentality in ourselves and in the teams we lead.
Andersons’ 12 word (or less) Definition of Duty
Acting based on our assigned tasks and our moral obligations.
Leaders of Character see it as their Duty to lead through a difficult situation and not allow themselves or others to wallow in it. Victims may inspire sympathy, but they do not inspire followers.
It is our Duty – as leaders – to inspire followers.
Question:
How have you seen a victim mentality of a leader infiltrate a team?
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