Who’s Really Responsible for Team Failures?

In team management, the question of who's responsible when things go wrong comes up a lot. Is it the team members, the leader, or maybe a mix of both? This isn't just a simple blame game — it's a critical part of building a successful team culture. Let's dig into this and explore a better way to handle failures within an engineering team. Trust me, it's not about pointing fingers.

When something goes wrong, it's tempting to point fingers at the team or an individual. Leaders often get frustrated and immediately hold the team accountable. I get it. When a project doesn't go as planned, the natural reaction is to look for who dropped the ball. Been there, done that. I used to do the same thing. If a mistake happened, I'd go straight to the person and ask, "What (the fuck) happened?"

At first, this seemed like the right move. After all, I've always been a pretty direct person. But I quickly learned it wasn't helpful. It didn't fix the mistake, and more often than not, it just made people feel bad. They'd become defensive, or worse, unmotivated. No one was learning from the mistakes — least of all, me.

Over time, I realized that leadership isn't about just holding people accountable or exercising authority. It's really about helping the team succeed. It's about creating an environment where everyone can do their best work.

That's when I made a mindset shift. I started living by a simple principle: "If we fail, it's on me. If we succeed, it's on the team".

It changed everything. By owning the failures as a leader and celebrating the wins as a team effort, I saw morale improve and trust grow.

Blaming people for mistakes doesn't actually solve anything. It's like putting a band-aid on a broken bone. Often, the real problem lies in how the team is set up or how the work is organized. And that is usually on the leadership.

Instead of finger-pointing, I now focus on holding retrospectives. We sit down as a team and have an open conversation about what went wrong. No judgment, just honest reflection. Most of the time, these meetings reveal something bigger — like a process that needs fixing, or a resource we're lacking.

Once we understand the root cause, we work together to come up with solutions. Maybe we need to adjust how we approach a project, or someone needs extra support. Whatever the case, this collaborative approach actually gets us closer to preventing future problems.

In the end, managing a team isn't about figuring out who to blame when things go south. It's about taking responsibility, supporting your team, and working together to improve. Leaders should focus on serving the team, owning the failures, and sharing the successes. That's how you create an environment where everyone learns and grows, leading to even greater achievements in the long run.

Forget about the blame — focus on how you can make things better, together. Remember: strong teams are built on trust, not fear of failure.