Credit and blame . . .
                  are at the heart of career success

When it comes to the social dynamics of credit and blame, perceptions matter. Leaders have different styles of assigning credit and blame, and different styles can be perceived as more or less effective and motivational in different situations, roles, and organizations.

The "Credit and Blame Type Assessment" (CBTA) report is intended to help you reflect on the way in which others likely perceive how you assign credit and blame.  The report provides questions to ask yourself and others over time as you develop your leadership skills.  Your responses are compared to 11 blame categories organized into 3 themes:

Tendency to Blame Others

• Volatile Guardian – Assign credit and blame based on mood
• Sensitive Retirer – Make decisions that minimize risk of blame
• Indifferent Daydreamer – Uncaring about either credit or blame
• Rationalizing Blamer – Refuse to take responsibility for mistakes

Tendency to Deny Blame

• Big Person on Campus – Lead with main purpose of receiving glory
• High Wire Walker – Seek credit by doing whatever is necessary to get it
• Wary Watcher – Vigilant for evidence of others unfairly blaming them
• Thespian – Focus on gaining attention from others
• Assertive Daydreamer – Assign credit or blame on superstition over fact

Tendency to Blame Yourself

• Micromanager – Perfectionistic, focused on tactical
• Martyr – Take more blame than deserve

Author:
Ben Dattner, Ph.D. is an organizational psychologist, and the founder of Dattner Consulting, a workplace consulting firm based in New York City. He has helped a wide variety of corporate and non-profit organizations sort through their credit and blame issues to become more successful. Ben is an Adjunct Professor at New York University, where he teaches Organizational Development in the Industrial and Organizational Psychology MA Program in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. He has also taught Strategic Career Management in the Executive MBA Program at Stern Business School. Ben received a BA in Psychology from Harvard College, and an MA and Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from New York University, where he was a MacCracken Fellow and his doctoral dissertation analyzed the relationship between narcissism and fairness in the workplace. Ben's master's thesis examined the impact of trust on negotiation.

For more information about this assessment
go to http://www.creditandblame.com