“It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

I wish I could say I coined the aforementioned phrase. But I’m going to give credit where credit is due. In this case, credit goes to Harry S. Truman.

Let’s talk a little about what he meant – and the whole idea of giving credit to those who deserve it.

A week or so ago, I ran across a business profile of a healthcare organization that had recently come through an accreditation survey with zero deficiencies and a score of distinction. In the article, the CEO complimented his entire staff, attributing the organization’s success to their efforts.

We should hear such things from leaders more often!

As a leader, you are the one held accountable when something goes wrong or when the team’s performance falls short. But just as the buck stops with you, there are also many great perks that come with positions of prominence. For one, you have a platform to acknowledge the efforts of those in the trenches – who very often don’t get the recognition they deserve. Doing so is both essential to your role as a respected leader, and it’s just the admirable thing to do.

A dear colleague of mine often says, “The most beautiful thing that a leader can do is to give away credit … the ugliest thing they can do is to keep it for themselves”. 

Establish the habit of identifying and recognizing those who have made the success of your organization possible early on. By shining a light on the members of your team vital to the performance of the whole, you will be lauded in a way that the “leader” who singularly hogs the spotlight will never have the pleasure of knowing.