Getting blamed for a screwup at work or having someone else take credit for something you’ve actually done can be frustrating, to say the least. But it can also spread deep inside a company, demoralizing staff and ultimately making work more about office politics than “getting the job done.”

That’s a key point Ben Dattner, the founder and principal of Dattner Consulting, a New York-based workplace consulting firm, makes in his book The Blame Game: How the Hidden Rules of Credit and Blame Determine Our Success and Failure. In an interview with Portfolio.com, Dattner explains how these dysfunctional strategies can apply to young entrepreneurs and how thinking about credit and blame differently can lead to better results.

How does the “blame game” hold back young entrepreneurs, and what can they do to avoid these pitfalls?

They need to take the longer view and not expect short-term positive feedback. If they want continuous praise, then maybe a regular job would be more rewarding. Entrepreneurs sometimes get no feedback at all, and people might not even tell you an idea is totally worthless. Entrepreneurs need to have vision and conviction, but also the ability to acknowledge failure.

Rather than blame a venture capitalist or an employee, ask yourself "What can I do differently?" Be wary of scapegoating other people

Isn’t it easier to externalize blame?

It’s a short-term temptation to use external circumstances as a way to harness righteous rage. It’s more difficult be accountable and easier to be in denial; believing that no one recognizes my brilliance and talent.

Gen Y and Gen Xers have often been portrayed as having a greater sense of entitlement than previous generations. How can that impact them as entrepreneurs and business owners?

It’s been said that Millennials are the most praised generation, but expecting too much praise can be a trap. Your point of view, especially as an entrepreneur, might not be immediately reinforced by the world. It’s the idea that everyone deserves praise just for showing up at work or school. There’s a feeling that no one lost and everyone’s a winner. Entrepreneurs need to be willing to risk failure. You have to care about success, but can’t become so wrapped up that you let failure derail you.

Is there a sense that these younger generations are more likely to take credit or place blame unfairly?

It’s something very contemporary, but also as old as Machiavelli's advice in The Prince. "It’s better to be feared than loved." I don’t know how successful that advice is as an entrepreneur. A blame-spewing, temperamental approach might work in a stable company where power is consolidated.

But as an innovating entrepreneur, you have people working with you who are making sacrifices. If your work comes to fruition, they believe they will be compensated fairly, and they have faith that their sacrifices were worth taking. Spewing blame undermines that faith.

How does popular culture shape notions of business leadership, credit, and blame?

The Apprentice is all about who is going to get the blame. Being genuine or sharing praise is not valued. It’s all about taking unfair credit and blame. This doesn’t make for a successful organization.

Are there positive lessons about credit and blame that entrepreneurs can take from contemporary business leaders?

Ursula Burns, the CEO of Xerox, has done a great job of sharing credit for her ideas and has motivated employees by sometimes giving people more credit than they deserved. She’s very self-effacing and loyal.

Michael Dell has used executive coaches and has widely shared that feedback with his employees. He’s a leader who has been mindful of taking blame and that serves as a precedent that cascades down to everyone else. He has a plastic bulldozer on his desk that reminds him to be mindful of bulldozing his ideas.

---