A failure to understand the dynamics of blame and credit at work can and will derail your career. The tendency to track credit and blame is hardwired by evolutionary psychology, as fear triggers people’s unconscious to protect their status by shifting unwarranted attention from themselves to external threats. When these primal fears are stirred up, the parts of our brain that think and plan long-term tend to not work so well.

People who enjoy their job or who lead high performing teams and organizations have learned how to foster collaboration and problem solving, without the finger-pointing.

Here are 7 tips to help you stop the toxic blame game and also give credit where it’s due.

1. Never start or spread rumors about blame
2. Deliberately share credit with difficult colleagues or direct reports–this reduces paranoia and fear. If necessary “overshare” credit to break a cycle of finger-pointing
3. Fight “attribution error” in evaluating whether a superior or peer is targeting you for blame or criticism–that is, separate the person from the job they are performing
4. Find out how others see you. Ask colleagues if they think you’re assigning credit–or blame. Are you holding yourself to the same high standards you expect others to follow
5. Fight groupthink: when your team is going to make a decision, have team members reach independent decisions before convening to discuss or present those judgments to you.  Assign devil’s advocates for key decisions to make sure your team thoroughly considers alternative explanations.
6. Get and keep people who don’t throw others under the bus–pay attention to how job candidates discuss blame and credit in interviews and the hiring process;
7. Reward direct reports who step up to take blame when merited, and show how they have learned for the future