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Have you heard of the phrase “Too much of a good thing is not good for you.”? You’ve probably heard or read about it at least once. Do you agree with it or not? From my point of view, it really depends on what that good thing is. It is not necessarily black and white. Can you be too happy? I think not. Everyone needs to be as happy as possible and that’s a good thing. How about optimism? Can you be too optimistic? If so, how can it be detrimental for you? For one thing, too much optimism can blind you to how things really are which will cause you to make bad decisions. How about accountability? Is there such a thing as being too accountable? Yes and even though it is not as damaging as having zero accountability, it can still negatively affect both your work and personal life.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We were taught to play on our strengths but if we take them to the extreme, they become weaknesses. The same thing goes for accountability. Take it to the extreme and you are just adding undue stress to yourself and your team. Are you taking it too far? What are the signs that you are taking accountability to the extreme?

Believing That Everything Is Your Fault

When you have the urge to carry everything on your shoulders and something goes wrong, then you will fall into the belief that everything is your fault. You don’t have to take responsibility for everything. No matter how good you are, there are just things that are way beyond your control. As a leader, being accountable is just one part of the job. You also have to be able to identify which things are within your control and which are not. Take the hits and keep going. If you take responsibility for everything, stress will finally catch up to you and halt you in your tracks.

Trying To Solve Everyone’s Problems

Helping out your team in any way you can is a step in the right direction to becoming an effective leader. However, when you start trying to solve everyone’s problems, even when they are not asking for help, can create friction between you and the team members. The best that you can do in this situation is to suggest solutions and not impose them. Let your team do their respective tasks. You are there to guide and assist them, not to take over their jobs.