Harry Truman alluded to this phenomenon when he famously said, “The buck stops here.” He understood that he was the person who would ultimately be responsible for any decision made by his staff or even the federal government at large. Other people could pass the buck to him, but there was no one to whom he could pass the buck. He even emblazoned these words on a plaque that he kept on his desk in the Oval Office as a daily reminder of this role and responsibility.
As Truman put it, “The president—whoever he is—has to decide. He can’t pass the buck to anybody. No one else can do the deciding for him. That’s his job.” Indeed, employees and citizens act as if this is the case. Presidential approval ratings tend to track Americans’ views of the economy, even though the president’s direct influence over the state of the economy is diffuse. The same principle applies to the heads of private companies: Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf resigned after widespread and bipartisan anger that he did not know about or do more to stop the company’s fraudulent sales practices. Even when choices are delegated, the buck stops at the top.
Perhaps, then, this is the key to encouraging leaders to take responsibility for tough decisions rather than pass the buck. Reminding those at the top that they will ultimately bear the responsibility and carry the blame for any choice made by people under them may encourage them to face challenging decisions head-on and exercise their best judgment when called upon to make choices that determine not just their own fate, but the fates of others.
The greatest leaders don’t need reminding of this in the first place—they recognize that bad decisions will fall on their shoulders, regardless of who makes them. Even greater are those who recognize this sacrifice and seek out that responsibility for the good of those who serve them, and of those they serve.