The Blame Game: How the Hidden Rules of Credit and Blame Determine Our Success or Failure

FROM HIS YEARS OF EXPERIENCE CONSULTING to leading companies, psychologist Ben Dattner has discovered that at the root of the worst problems we confront at work is the skewed allocation of blame and credit. In so many workplaces, people feel they're playing a high-stakes game of "blame or be blamed," which can be disastrous for the individuals who get caught up in it and can sink teams and afflict whole companies. Dattner presents compelling evidence that whether we fall into the trap of playing the blame game or learn to avoid the pitfalls is a major determinant of how successful we will be. The problem is that so many workplaces foster a blaming culture. Maybe you have a constantly blaming boss, or a colleague who is always taking credit for others' work. All too often, individuals are scapegoated, teams fall apart, projects get derailed, and people become disengaged because fear and resentment have taken root. And what's worse, the more emotionally charged a workplace is--maybe our jobs are threatened or we're facing a particularly difficult challenge--the more emphatically people play the game, just when trust and collaboration are most needed. What can we do? We can learn to understand the hidden dynamics of human psychology that lead to this bad behavior so that we can inoculate ourselves against it and defuse the tensions in our own workplace. In lively prose that is as engaging as it is illuminating, Dattner tells a host of true stories of those he has worked with--from the woman who was so scapegoated by her colleagues that she decided to quit, to the clueless boss who was too quick to blame his staff. He shares a wealth of insight from the study of human evolution and psychology to reveal the underlying reasons why people are so prone to blaming and credit-grabbing; it's not only human nature, it's found throughout the animal kingdom. Even bats do it. He shows how our family experiences, gender, and culture also all shape the way we cope with credit and blame issues, and introduces eleven personality types that are especially prone to causing difficulties and illustrates how we can best cope with them. He also profiles how a number of outstanding leaders, from General Dwight Eisenhower and President Harry Truman to highly respected business figures such as former Intel CEO Andy Grove and Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, employed the power of taking blame and sharing credit to achieve great success. The only winning move in the blame game, Dattner shows, is not to play, and the insights and practical suggestions in this book will help readers, at any level of any organization and at any stage of their careers, learn to manage the crucial psychology of credit and blame for themselves and others.

Review :
""The Blame Game" is a modern management masterpiece; one of the most well-crafted business books I have ever read. It is useful, timeless, and often counter-intuitive. This compelling gem weaves together rigorous research and commonsense to show how the wisest, most humane, and most effective leaders get ahead - and enable their teams and organizations to succeed - in surprising ways."--Robert I. Sutton, Stanford Professor and author of "Good Boss, Bad Boss" "Ben Dattner has authored a brilliant and timely book. Unfortunately, the blame game is alive and all too well in business today. In "The Blame Game" the author offers us insights as to how to change the game and create healthy and productive companies."--Doug Lennick, author, " Moral Intelligence" "Blame and credit constitute a hidden economy that, if not managed properly, can undermine even the most promising organizations and derail even the most promising careers. This book is an encyclopedia of blame in the workplace that anyone, at any level of their company and at any stage of their career, can benefit from reading."--Keith McFarland, #1 Best Selling Author of "The Breakthrough Company" and "Bounce" "Packed full of intriguing, all-too-familiar stories, and based on a foundation of well established theories and research, "The Blame Game" is an excellent resource for developing greater self awareness about the dangerous allure, and greater social awareness about the contagious effects, of blame. Ben Dattner provides us with sound practical advice about how to stop playing the blame game, and how to instead create and maintain relationships and organizations based on honesty, trust and respect."--Annie McKee, co-author of "Primal Leadership" and founder, Teleos Leadership Institute "Through a wealth of stories and research, "The Blame Game" presents a compelling case that individuals, groups and organizations can benefit greatly by focusing less on blame and more on problem solving and collaboration. Leaders at any level of any organization will find practical guidance for how they can make this shift and also lead others in a better direction."--Pamela Meyer, author, "From Workplace to Playspace: Innovating, Learning and Changing Through Dynamic Engagement" "We've all suffered from the blame game, whether we are the one getting unfairly blamed, or the one yielding to the temptation to unproductively blame others. Through the lens of organizational psychology, Ben Dattner explains why blame is so prevalent in the workplace and presents so many challenges in our careers. Then he shares practical advice for how to break free from the blame game by taking appropriate responsibility for our actions, learning from our mistakes, and giving others the credit they are due."--Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, author of "Women Who Think Too Much" and "The Power of Women" "A handbook for CEOs and other leaders...An excellent, thought-provoking book; amust read."