One of the smartest sales management guys I know–heck, business management in general–is a fellow member of my mastermind group, Bill Lee. He has just put out an ebook I suggested he charge for, but he’s giving it away (what do I know?) "30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot, and How to Avoid Them." If you’re… a manager, or want to be, get this ebook.  (Download it free here.)

Here is just one of the 30 mistakes he covers in the ebook.

Failure to Accept Personal Accountability
Until managers are willing to accept personal accountability for their failures, they run the risk of sounding pathetic and losing the respect of their people. I said accept personality accountability for failures; I did not include successes. It’s not much of a challenge for managers to take credit for successes, but there is a strong tendency for them to point their finger toward someone else for failures.

Action Plan: Set the standard in your company or department by accepting full responsibility for the successes and failures that occur as a result of the decisions you make. Your people will find this behavior to be quite refreshing.

"Managers who place blame on others risk sounding pathetic."
— Bill Lee