5 Ways Sincere Leaders Promote Irresponsibility

5 ways sincere leaders promote IRResponsibility:

1. Help too soon. You tell people they aren’t responsible when you rush in to save the day. (You also suggest they aren’t capable.)
2. Protect people from consequences. Don’t hang people out to dry – expect them to make things right.
3. Nag, hover, and micro-manage.
4. Tolerate patterns of poor performance.
5. Overreact to failure. People learn to cover up when you blow up.

Responsible team members:

1. Know their behaviors matter. Irresponsible people don’t care if they discourage or disadvantage others. Those who feel they don’t matter, don’t feel responsible.
2. Take action without asking permission, after clarifying their role and responsibility.
3. Make themselves accountable – don’t need to be pressured.
4. Seek help without transferring accountability to their helpers.
5. Establish their own reminders.
6. Don’t expect others to pick up their slack.
7. Face the music without blame or excuse. Responsible leaders share their failures without apology because they get up, rather than give up.
8. Rise to challenges, thoughtfully.
9. Let you know when they’re in over their heads. Responsible people don’t fake it at the expense of performance.
10. Choose values over convenience. Responsible teammates act consistently, even when they don’t feel like it.

Responsibility inspires trust.

4 ways leaders promote REsponsibility:

1. Acknowledge that we make ourselves responsible. Responsibility is self-imposed.
2. Give responsibility, if you expect people to act responsibly.
3. Delegate slowly. Don’t dump responsibility on untested team members.
4. Create reporting and oversight structures when people are learning new skills.

Two questions that ignite responsibility:

Encourage people to explore what went wrong. Don’t offer quick solutions. Ask two responsibility questions.

#1. What would you like to do about that?

(Follow question #1 with silence.)

#2. What makes you think things will be different next time?

(Ask question #2 when future plans repeat past behaviors that didn’t work.)

How might leaders develop responsibility in others?