Don't Point the Finger, Point the Thumb

When things don’t go your way, it’s easy to do three things: blame, complain, or make excuses.

We blame the situation, the people around us, or the circumstances we can’t control. It feels good in the moment, but it rarely provides lasting help.

That’s why Dabo Swinney’s response to Clemson’s 1–3 start this season stood out. When most coaches would have looked for someone else to blame, he said something powerful:

He went on to explain, “The players and other coaches have to take accountability as well, but I hired those coaches and I recruited those players.”

It was a breath of fresh air. Because in a world full of finger-pointing and excuse-making, Dabo showed us what real leadership looks like.

Great leaders don’t look outward first; they look inward. They train their brain to start sentences with “I” or include the word “my.” They look in the mirror and ask:

• “What’s my part in this?”

• “What can I do differently?”

They use their thumb, not their finger. So the next time things don’t go as planned, take a lesson from Dabo. Don’t blame. Don’t complain. Don’t make excuses.

Point the thumb. Test yourself today to say, “I” instead of “They.”

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