Responsibility is the key to abundance, what does this mean? Well, a lot of times we like to shift blame, but as a boss, you can’t do that. You have to take responsibility as the owner, and when you do, it creates a much better environment for everyone at work!
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Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer. You can find this and 400 other answered questions in this series on our YouTube channel.
Responsibility is the Key to Abundance
Responsibility is the key to abundance. I want you to think about that for just a second. Now, this is part of our abundance series, where we’re going from a scarcity mentality in how do I survive in my business all the way to wild prosperous growth.
There’s a little bit of a stretch between. And this week we’re doing an abundance series so that we can change our mind and our mindset so that we can go through that process.
And when we get there, it’s not a surprise and then we sabotage our success, okay? So, follow me on this concept. The concept is removing blame from your business.
Nobody Wants to Make Mistakes
Now, there’s a human tendency as business owners, we don’t want to make mistakes. We’re trying hard to make our business go. We don’t want to fall through the cracks. And then when something malfunctions and something happens, we feel upset and we feel attacked.
So, we want to push the blame on someone else. It looks like this. A customer calls up and they’re upset with us and they say, “Oh my goodness. Your cleaner came to my house and they left hair around the bathtub and I’m so upset.”
Our first inclination is saying, “Well, it’s the cleaner’s fault, right?” We want to push that blame. As long as we’re pushing the blame and we’re not taking responsibility for that situation, we also push the solution away.
Taking Responsibility is the First Thing You Have to Do
The first thing that we need to do is say, “This is my company. I accept responsibility. I’m here to help. What can we do to make this right?” And the customer might say, “Well, don’t do anything. It’s fine. I just want you to be aware of it.” Or they might say, “Come back to my house and fix it and clean it up.”
Or they might say, “I’m looking for a discount, right?” Your question is, “I’m here to help. How can we fix this?” Now you’re involving them in the solution. Part of success is not pushing the problems away and pushing blame and blocking out the solutions.
The secret to success is getting the other people that are complaining to you to become part of the solution. And that comes by accepting responsibility. So, what we do then is this. It’s my company. I accept responsibility. How can we make this right?
Make Your Employees Part of the Solution
And then you go back to the employee that left the mess and you say, “Hey, listen, Mrs. Jones called and she has a question about the way that we left her tub and the hair that was around the tub. How can we make this right?” And you let them become part of the solution. And then, you empower them.
“When you’re at Mrs. Jones’ house, I want you to double-check your work so that we don’t have this situation again. And if you’re on the job and it’s not satisfactory, I give you permission to stay a few minutes extra and correct that problem.
We don’t want to have to keep going back and we don’t want to give away our profits for a job that should have been done right the first time. Can you help me with this?” And you involve them in the solution.
It’s Super Easy to Push Blame Away From You
It is super easy to blame and say, “Well, my computer broke down and I didn’t have accessibility to my records. Therefore, I was unable to send you the invoice on time, but you’re still late on paying me.” It’s easy to push the blame. We’re going to stop pushing the blame. We’re going to stop blaming our customers.
Well, my customer was irate and irritable with me today, therefore I was in a bad mood and therefore something else happened. No, it’s not the customer’s fault. It’s not the employee’s fault. It’s our responsibility.
One of the hardest things you’ll do in business is to stop and say, “The buck stops right here. I am responsible. I am the business owner.” And if you are the business owner, you have the power to change. You have the power to change everything.
Take Responsibility in Employee Problems Too
And so when somebody comes to you with a problem, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a customer problem or if it’s an employee problem. The employee problems look like this. You’ll have two coworkers that are out on a job cleaning together, and one will come back to you and they will be all angry and upset.
“She did this. She did that. He did this. He did that. I did more work than him. He’s being slow, whatever.” And they bring to you these problems. It’s easy for you to blame the other person because they got blamed.
No, this is my problem. I hired both of you, I put you both on this job. I put you both in this scenario where I expected you to rely on each other and to cover each other and lift each other up, right? So, I will take responsibility for this.
Get Everyone Involved in Finding a Solution
Now, while we’re having this conversation, what do you think is fair? How can we work together to fix this situation? And you get them involved in resolving the situation. What can I do to make this situation work for both of you? Because I am in control and I take responsibility for what happens in my company.
The minute that you start taking responsibility is the minute that you open these wide doors of possibility. And when you get everyone on the team starting to ask the same questions, I’m here to help. I take responsibility for this. All of a sudden the blame game goes away.
Instead of making excuses, we’re making solutions. We’re finding ways that we can move quicker and more efficiently. And we can help each other out. And we’re more progressive. That’s where real success comes from.
Taking Responsibility Gives You Control
So in the world and the abundance game, the important thing to stop and realize is this. As long as I’m blaming other people, as long as I’m shifting responsibility, I’m losing control of what it is I’m trying to build.
And so, the important thing in this scenario is to say, “I stop right here and I accept the responsibility for whatever it is that has happened and I opt to be of help.”
And so when you are of help, you then are of solution, and that is where the real wealth comes.
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