How to Get People to Take Responsibility
Irresponsibility doesn’t see the damage it does, until it’s too late.
“I didn’t mean to,” is not acceptable.
“I did my best,” is anecdotal.
When people don’t take responsibility:
- Reputations decline.
- Timelines are extended.
- Performance falls short.
- Frustration shoots up.
- Goals are adapted.
- Accusation and blame escalates.
- Gossip soars. “What’s up with Fred? He never get’s things done on time.”
- Excuses abound. Irresponsible people give “good” reason for irresponsibility.
- Higher ups complain.
- Stress increases.
How to get people to take responsibility:
- Be responsible yourself. What have you pushed to the side of your plate, hoping it will go away?
- Agree on goals, don’t simply give assignments.
- Explain goals in light of the big picture. What’s the purpose? Who is impacted by success or failure?
- Get commitments.
- What are you going to do?
- When are you going to deliver it?
- How will you achieve your goal?
- When will you work on this?
- What will you do if you realize you might fall short?
- Provide a path to success.
- What resources do you need? How will you get them?
- What skills might need developed?
- Who needs to participate?
- Respond to sincere failure gracefully. But, before you do, examine excuses.
- When did you realize you would fall short?
- What did you do when you faced obstacles?
- When did you begin working on this project?
- What did you actually do? Don’t accept, “I did my best.”
- During stretch assignments, stay close but don’t handhold.
- Monitor progress. Create incremental milestones.
- Give abundant feedback along the way, not after the fact.
- Don’t throw people under the bus. Stand with people who fall short, if you are going to keep them on the team.
How do you help people take responsibility?
*Thanks to Facebook friends for their suggestions.
Responsibility blog really hit the spot this morning! Thank you.
This is very timely. I think reinforcing the needs of the team as a whole and how if they don’t do their bit, that the team falls down. That there’s a symbiotic relationship there. There’s a great acronym for TEAM: Together Everybody Achieves More. However, is that really true? So often, it’s a case of: “If you want something done, do it yourself!!” xx Rowena
Thanks Rowena. The up and down side of teams is they can waste or maximize potential. Responsibility is central achieving potential. When we have irresponsible teammates it’s easier to do it ourselves.
Too true!!!
I was brought up to be responsible. In both my professional and person life I value my integrity. I want to be known as a person who will do what I say I will do when I say I will do it and will communicate about it along the way, especially if any issues crop up.
When I deal with people who don’t live by this standard I find that it disrupts teams and relationships. It causes turmoil and a lot of misunderstanding. Lack of communication about deliverables is the absolute worst. With lack of information people will create a story of what may be going on and it’s usually wrong. A lot of time and energy is wasted.
Lack of responsibility is a major pet peeve for me, especially #8 reason for lack of responsibility. It’s a tough one to not be compassionate about, especially when you like and care about the person AND they know it. I often feel used by people when they use this excuse. Argh!
Thanks Lucile. When you listen carefully to people’s explanations what you hear are reasons why it was ok to fail, fall short, and not deliver. A reason why we failed is justification for maintaining the status quo.
Great Post! Without agree-upon, practical rules for accountability, teams are destined for near-term frustration and future failure!
This is great and timely input for me. I have been struggling with people not taking responsibility.
often things like “scope creep” led by others above you sabotage you. Then the responsibility / ownership is above you – but it reflects on you
If you want people to accept the responsibility, ensure they have the authority to go with it. If you make then responsible but demand that you have to sign off on every single stage, all you are doing is asking them to take the fall when it goes wrong without giving them the tools to do it right. They’ll do it once or twice, but after that, you find they won’t, because what you have managed to do is conflate responsibility with blame.
Quoting: “But, before you do, examine excuses.” To me, the culture is all screwed up if the leader expects or allows excuses!!! Notice all the questions associated with this quote include the verb, “did.” The culture should be something like “I like your proposed project; run with it and keep me informed – let me know if I can provide assistance.” When an obstacle materializes and all options are resource-dependent, the leader should be informed and should weigh in on the recommended approach. He should also get status updates as appropriate.
In other words, responsibility should be accepted prior to the go-ahead, not through examining excuses after any “sincere failure.” How is responsibility accepted? It should be part of the culture of the organization!!!
How about the following:
0. Work with employees to establish a culture of responsibility with employees expected to suggest additions / refinements to the organization products and services.
1. through 5. as in the post.
6. Respond to obstacles in a graceful and timely manner to seek to avoid unexpected failures.
7. through 10. as in the post
My thinking …
This is one of your posts that need to go down in history, or might I say UP in history? I believe in people taking responsibility for their actions and words. I add myself to this as well. Reputation matters; it also defines your integrity level.
For Managers and Leaders of organizations, I believe you lead by example. Show your people that you will take one for the team if needed, Then silently go back and discuss with your team how they could have made the situation better.
Some mangers and even business owners do not realize that people under them look to them to provide a clear direction. As a leader you have to step back and then step up. Realize that your actions and words could be shaping the minds of future managers or business owners.
Think of others first , and remember it is more important to do the right thing, than to try to prove you are right. Over time you will learn that if you always practice doing the right thing… then you will actually be right. It is a win win for everyone.
Great post, Dan!