Responsibility

What Is Responsibility

Response + ability, these two words combine to form a well known word Responsibility. It means the ability of a person to respond to a situation according to its capabilities. In tough situations, a responsible person will never shy away from its responsibilities, instead it will rise to the occasion to save the sinking ship. Taking responsibility requires a great sense of courage as well because if the person fails he or she not only fails themselves but also the entire team that are dependent on them. However, taking responsibility beyond oneself means a greater level of risk and therefore a greater degree of success.

Responsibility is not for everyone but who chooses to become responsible for their actions, achieves a greater sense of power and freedom.

Source: Your Response Is Your Responsibility

Why You Might Want Responsibility

Responsibility brings us many folds of its benefits. It helps an individual achieve its goals and complete the assigned work before deadline. It helps the company or oganization work more efficiently and keep its client happy.

From a team point of view, if we have more responsible people in our team, the better will be our performance:

• Each team member will be able to work more independently and make better decisions.
• We can trust the team members about the work assigned to them.
• The team members will also tend to be more honest and keep their promises.
• Responsibility is a part of healthy team culture

Problems Responsibility Solves

• Creates a positive atmosphere.
• Matches the expectations of the company.
• Increases the self worth of an individual, as the work done by them is appreciated.
• Quality of work is higher and no poor quality work is done | Poor Code Quality
• Team focuses mostly on solving problems rather than indulging in any unhealtly blame game | Demotivated Team
• The product a team is working is successful.
• No toxic team culture

How to Implement Responsibility

• Communication is the key: The first step to implementing responsibility is talking to the concerned individual about their responsibility.
• Enough resources to complete their work: The people must be given adequate resources that they might need to complete their work. This might include proper training, guidance, access to resources, etc. | Home Office
• Responsibilities and Clearity: The people must we well aware about their responsibiltes and have a sense of clearity about the tasks they have to perform. | Team Roles Definition
• Re-assign: There might me times when a person is not fit to be assigned a particular task so at those moments the responsibility must be re-assigned to a better person.
• Reflection Meetings: The team members must have short and insightful meetings for reflection about their work done and to discuss future plans | Meaningful Meetings | Retrospective

Source: How to Hold Productive and Enjoyable Meetings

Common Pitfalls of the Responsibility

• People run from responsibilities for reasons like low self-worth and fear | Toxic Team Culture
• An individual may think he or she is not capable of taking a particular responsibilty.
• A person might feel overwhelmed or underwhelmed by the responsibility given to them.
• In-correct assignment of responsibilty. A person may or may not be suited for the particular task.
• Lack of interest in their work and selfish nature.

Resources for Responsibility

• Shared Responsibility: Advantages of creating a team of leaders
• Letting Go: The Benefits of Sharing Responsibility
• Improve Teamwork: How To Improve Teamwork Through Shared Responsibility
• Team Members: Team Members' Responsibility