In March 2020 the coronavirus spread aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt. Captain Brett Crozier wrote a letter asking for help. “We are not at war. Sailors do not need to die.” On April 2 the acting Navy secretary, Thomas Modly, relieved him of command for poor judgment.
As Crozier walked off the ship, hundreds of sailors chanted his name. Modly resigned five days later. In June the Navy decided not to reinstate Crozier.
In Super Bowl XLIX the Seattle Seahawks trailed New England 28-24 with 26 seconds left, at the New England 1-yard line. Seattle chose to pass. Malcolm Butler intercepted, and the game was effectively over.
The head coach, Pete Carroll, said afterward: “I told those guys, ‘That’s my fault, totally.'” His offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, said of the receiver: “He could have done a better job of staying strong on the ball.”
In April 1961 the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba failed. On April 21 John F. Kennedy told reporters: “There’s an old saying that victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan.” He added that he was the responsible officer of the government.
Gallup then found his approval at 83%, up from 78% before the invasion. The saying was not his. A version appears in the 1942 diary of the Italian diplomat Count Galeazzo Ciano, who called it something that happens “as always.”
On June 5, 1944, the day before D-Day, General Dwight Eisenhower wrote a note to release if the landings failed. “My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. … If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”
He crossed out “This particular operation” and wrote “My decision to attack” in its place. He misdated the note July 5. It is kept at the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas.
Team leads are also expected to defend the team against criticism, whether internal or external. The lead is „out in front“, shielding the team from attack, „taking personal ownership“ of the problems. An American team lead does this also out of self-interest. For any and all criticism of the team is direct criticism of that team lead. „Your success is my success“ has an opposite. „Your failure is my failure.“
To „take ownership means“ to take responsibility for one’s actions; not blaming others. To „take the heat“ means to listen and accept criticism or blame. Take „the bull by the horns“ means to confront a problem head-on, as it is, and deal with it openly.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”, John Quincy Adams – America‘s sixth president, 1825-1829.
“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.”, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), an American industrialist who led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and who was one of the highest profile philanthropists of his era, whose 1889-article on wealth remains a major advisory for those who aspire to lead philanthropic lives.