More and more I?m finding that there is tremendous power in responsibility?and in the word ?responsibility.? I?m not talking about that Spiderman quote, ?with great power, comes great responsibility,??which is true?but the idea of accepting ownership of our roles, whether they be personal or professional.
On a personal note, when I agree to call the accountant or put away the laundry or pick up our prescriptions from the pharmacy, what I?m really telling Liz is that she doesn?t need to put More and more I?m finding that there is tremendous power in responsibility?and in the word ?responsibility.? I?m not talking about that Spiderman quote, ?with great power, comes great responsibility,??which is true?but the idea of accepting ownership of our roles, whether they be personal or professional.
On a personal note, when I agree to call the accountant or put away the laundry or pick up our prescriptions from the pharmacy, what I?m really telling Liz is that she doesn?t need to put any energies into making sure that I do what I say I will do. And in that, it also implies that Liz should feel free to focus her time and energies elsewhere, and that if I run into any kind of problems along the way, that I will either resolve the problems myself or else ask for help. But either way, I agree to take care of it.
Beyond that, I find that when I say the words, ?I accept this responsibility,? the task?picking up the prescriptions, for instance?suddenly becomes more important to me. There?s an issue of pride, of self-respect?and of accountability. If I take the attitude of, ?sorry, honey. Totally spaced. I?ll get to it later,? I?ve prevented Liz from getting what she needs, and what she could have done had we agreed otherwise.
And then there?s a credibility issue. If I want her to take me at my word, I have to honor my word by doing what I say I will do, when I say I will do it, and how. Of course, we can?and often should?forgive each other for our minor trespasses, but if you say out loud to someone that you accept the ?responsibility? of completing a certain task?picking up the prescription?I bet you?ll feel differently than if you simply say that you?ll do it.
I?m not trying to heap more importance onto these daily tasks than they merit, but my point is that the word ?responsibility? contains a great deal of power, and can be wonderfully intoxicating if you accept the actual responsibility that comes with the word ?responsibility.?
On the work front, part of my commitment to the people I supervise is to teach them?to the best of my ability?how to become more autonomous. And a big part of that?of being able to function more effectively with minimal help and/or supervision?is teaching and illustrating to them the value of responsibility, and what that means. Especially with the younger staff, but even with some of the more senior members as well, I?m realizing that I hadn?t been advising them quite as well as I could have.
When I explain to them in detail about what tasks are their responsibility, and which ones aren?t, they often get that deer-in-the-headlights look at first, but seem to embrace the idea not long after.
As an example, I?ve been telling the staff, individually and collectively, that if they agree to do something?say, hand in one of their stories by their assigned deadline, but for whatever reason can?t?it is their responsibility to tell me about it as far in advance as possible, and that they need to figure out how to resolve the problem on their own, or else ask for help. I used to tell them that they ?needed? to tell me if they were going to be late, that they ?needed? to resolve the problem if one arose.
Now I say that it is their ?responsibility.?
That single tweak in language, that single word change … it makes all the difference.
There is real power in the word ?responsibility.? Try it out. See how it fits, and then let me know what you think.
Responsibility. It?s quite a word.
