Jul

20

Are you exercising your respons-ability?

Filed Under Leadership Practices 

“You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.” - Jim Rohn

Responsibility is a choice that a leaders as in how to respond to life’s situations and circumstances. As leaders have two choices regarding our respons-ability in life…

  1. We can respond as a victim. We respond as victims when circumstances are the driving force in our life and in the choices we make. As victim you’re taking action based on the circumstances in which you find yourself. The circumstances are the cause of your actions.
  2. We can respond as an owner. When we respond as owner, we make a choice to respond with our ability to create a new future. Responsibility stems from a belief and a decision, that we can respond and be the cause and to never be a victim of a circumstance, and that one can act to create a new future without requiring the permission to act from any external sources. Response-ability is the recognition that as a leader you are able to author new and better circumstances, it’s a choice we make.

Respons-ability is a choice, not something that happens to you. You have the choice to be the victim or owner and author of the situation. An owner will look for solutions, whilst a victim will search for a persecutor or a rescuer. Peter Senge in the Introduction to the book “Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership” makes the following observation:   

"In the West we tend to think of leadership as a quality that exists in certain people. This usual way of thinking has many traps. We search for special individuals with leadership potential, rather than developing the leadership potential in everyone. We are easily distracted by what this or that leader is doing, by the melodrama of people in power trying to maintain their power and others trying to wrest it from them. When things are going poorly, we blame the situation on incompetent leaders, thereby avoiding any personal responsibility. When things become desperate, we can easily find ourselves waiting for a great leader to rescue us. Through all of this, we totally miss the bigger question: ‘What are  we, collectively, able to create?’…… we forget that in its essence, leadership is about learning how to shape the future. Leadership exists when people are no longer victims of circumstances but participate in creating new circumstances" - Peter Senge

As a leader are you taking respons-ability to own and shape the circumstances in which you find yourself?

Are you helping other to become respons-able?

 

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3 Responses to “Are you exercising your respons-ability?”

  1. Steven Sonsino on July 21st, 2008 10:25

    I love these ideas about respons-ability - but as you say it does take some courage to lead in this way, doesn’t it?

    I also sense another challenge. Many managers and leaders I speak to are drowning under so many things to do and facing intense short-term pressure to do something - anything!

    In addition, the colleagues, subordinates and bosses of many managers - with their different personal priorities - are often getting in the way. Office politics being what it is.

    In a small way I’m trying to help by publishing short leadership videos, but I wonder if you have any additional thoughts on how to increase your respons-ability under fire?

    Best wishes
    Steven Sonsino

  2. d a morton on July 25th, 2008 19:31

    Here, here!!! I could not agree with you more. Many of the problems that we face are due to the fact that people are looking to be lead instead of looking to lead their lives. Victims look for heroes outside of themselves. leadership is inside out, not outside in. It begins with each of us deciding for ourselves a course of action for success. When you look to others to solve your problems you should recognize the fact that it could happen. They might solve your problems but they will not solve your problems until they have solved their own.

    And to Steven… as you know, the best way to increase your responsibility under fire is to avoid the fire. Fires in the workplace are a symptom of an environment that is not respon-sible; but one that is reactionary. A responsible individual in that type of environment will be either heralded as a messiah or rejected like a transplanted organ. However, the work can be done but it is work. I am not sure it can be done in videos.

  3. Manly Men : truegrit on August 7th, 2008 1:52

    [...] “As a leader are you taking respons-ability to own and shape the circumstances in which you find yourself? Are you helping other to become respons-able?” -Practice of Leadership [...]

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