No Excuses: The Culture Every Leader Dreams Of

This is every leader’s dream!

Imagine a culture where no employees make excuses … for anything! No excuses for showing up late to a meeting, missing a deadline, ignoring a customer request, dropping the ball on a project and more.

Well, dream no more, because in this short article, I’m going to turn the dream into reality. First, let’s define an excuse. A quick Google search for the definition of an excuse turned up several options that can be summarized as follows: an explanation meant to justify or defend a mistake or failure.

There is nothing wrong with sharing an explanation for a mistake or failure, as long as it is a setup to the plan for what to do about it. The explanation should be a reason, not an excuse, and the next words that we should hear are, “And this is what we’re going to do about it.”

Sam Silverstein is an accountability expert and the author of No Excuses for a Day. His life’s mission is to eliminate excuses and help his clients build a culture of accountability. Silverstein’s new book will not only challenge every employee to stop making excuses, but also serve as a roadmap for creating an accountability culture.

The Difference Between an Excuse and an Explanation

An explanation by itself is an excuse. Silverstein says, “At the end of the day, you are going to own it or not … an excuse denies ownership.” But when the explanation is followed by how the issue or problem will be resolved, it stops being an excuse and becomes accountability.

Excuses Destroy Trust

Every excuse an employee or company makes chips away at trust and credibility. When one employee lets down another, the team begins to weaken. And when an employee lets a customer down, that employee becomes the face of the company. To the customer, the excuse isn’t coming from one person. It’s coming from the entire organization. In short, a culture of accountability builds trust. A culture of excuses quietly destroys it.

Leadership Sets the Example

Leaders and people in charge have to model the behavior they want to see in others. If a leader or manager makes excuses or avoids responsibility, it should be no surprise if others follow suit. You can’t have the “do as I say, not as I do” style of leadership. Being a good leader means showing how to solve problems, taking ownership and encouraging others to do the same. The culture begins at the top.

The “No Excuses for a Day” Challenge

Silverstein’s book is as much of a challenge as anything. Can everyone go one day without making an excuse? No more, “It’s not my department,” or “That’s just the way we always do it.” It sounds simple, but it forces people to pay attention to something many don’t realize they’re doing.

Here’s how Silverstein suggests approaching the challenge:

• First, choose a day to do the challenge.
• Explain the difference between an excuse and an explanation. Share examples everyone can relate to.
• Team up colleagues to be each other’s accountability coaches, looking for when someone slips.
• When/if someone does slip, don’t make them feel bad. This takes practice. Simply recognize the excuse and discuss how it can be turned into an explanation.
• Celebrate the day. Talk about it within the different teams and departments and share what people learned. Be sure to share big wins with other departments throughout the organization.
• Renew the challenge for another day. Then another. And another. What begins as a one-day exercise can eventually become a habit.

Final Words

Words matter. The subtle shift of adding words like, “Here’s what we are going to do about it,” after an explanation changes the conversation from excuses to solutions. That small change can transform a culture. Employees stop defending mistakes and start owning them. This cultural shift builds trust within the organization, and not only will employees notice the difference, but customers will as well.