THE buck should stop with the leader.
Whether in sport, work or politics, a leader should be willing to stand up and take responsibility for any failings of his or her team.
The mistake may have not been theirs, specifically, but that is never the point. The best leaders own the error and take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Or they fall on their sword. What they should never do is throw their team under the bus and deflect all blame.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews did that with the Victorian people this week.
Instead of accepting the failings of his government over the hotel quarantine bungle, he blamed Victorians for the COVID-19 outbreak that has forced Melbourne into a second lockdown and seen the state shut off from the rest of the country.
“Each of us know someone who has not been following the rules as well as they should have,” he said.
Mr Andrews often refers to himself as the captain of the team (the team being all of Victoria), but he may just have lost his players this week.
He has pointed the finger squarely at all of us, yet when asked about the hotel quarantine scandal linked to the latest outbreaks, he has continually deflected to a judicial inquiry.
The message seems to be: “You’re the problem, here, not me.”
It has maddened a lot of people and the strength and respect for his leadership in this state may never look the same again.
While the Premier may have not been aware of who was in charge of security at the hotels, he should have. And he should have taken responsibility for that from the beginning of this latest outbreak.
We don’t expect leaders to be perfect, and society is largely forgiving of mistakes, but not before they are told sorry. Not until there is honest contrition.
What Mr Andrews needs to understand is never accepting responsibility and deflecting blame on to your people is straight out of Donald Trump’s political handbook.
In recent times, Trump has been forced to send in the army and extra police to win back control of his people.
Guess who is lining Victoria’s borders and the streets of Melbourne today?
Captain Andrews has some trust to win back from his team.
Thanks to our health workers
I’VE always had the greatest admiration for people who work in the health services.
And I’m not just saying that because my wife is a nurse.
These people choose to spend their lives caring for others. Yes, they get paid to do it, but that care extends far beyond their working hours.
In the past week, my family has been privileged to have had talented professionals in this community take care of my dad.
He was up here visiting (don’t stress, they are from Gippsland, not Melbourne) and had a bad fall while playing in the backyard with his grandkids.
Today, he is ready to return home after having surgery and spending more than a week at Mildura Base Hospital and then the private hospital.
Speaking to him, he has been overwhelmed by the care and professionalism he has been treated with, from the ambulance officers, through to the nursing staffs and doctors.
He told me the ambulance drivers even came back to check up on his progress and chatted to him long after their shifts had finished.
“Just great blokes,” he said of them.
It’s difficult to understand the mentality of people who abuse or treat health professionals poorly.
My family’s sentiment this week is one of respect and gratitude. So, thanks.
Enjoy your weekend.
