What do you think of when you hear the wordresponsibility? Is it a term that you emotionally associate with joy and ease, or one that expresses a sense of heaviness and duty? I can guess how you feel. Think about it further: someone says, "That was your responsibility!" Do you think of success or the opposite? The answer is almost obvious. That's why I'm going to make a case for the positive aspects of responsibility here and now.
For 20 years, I have been intensively exploring the nature of human development. What began as an inner calling became my profession and is now my vocation. I want to know: "What is the core of this?" Over the past four years, my experiences and intellectual efforts have crystallized into one word: responsibility. With all its many aspects.
Of course, we all need to develop a healthy sense of responsibility personal accountability. That is the price of freedom. It is a cornerstone of our democracy. But those who take on too much will be crushed by their environment. The willingness to take responsibility is subject to the ability to take responsibility. And those who take on too little will soon have to follow the orders of others and, out of frustration, often become world champions at complaining. The willingness to take responsibility is subject to the readiness to take responsibility. Exciting, isn't it?
responsibility viewed differently depending on the perspective.
Philosophers ask: What conditions oblige and enable responsibility? Psychology explores free will and calls it "action control." It is interested in correct behavior and the basis of choice. But theories only make sense if they are helpful in practice. I am fascinated by what people make of them.
Taking on responsibility be active or passive. One person actively approaches it, takes it on, and delivers results. Here, the term "responsibility" has a positive connotation. Another person remains passive until asked. "I want to!" versus "I have to!" In most cases, the word responsibility is replaced responsibility guilt. This is how people in companies shape a culture of dealing with responsibility. From top to bottom. Often unconsciously. Of course, there are hybrid forms. In people and companies.
If society is an engine, then the economy is its transmission, responsibility , and trust is its transmission fluid.
This prompted our Leadership Academy to launch the Responsibility Index. The goal: to inspire people to embrace responsibility. This representative survey is designed to regularly measure and reflect the current state of society on this issue in a scientific manner. We hope that its findings will spark a discussion.
A few appetizers? Would you have thought that people recognize the responsibility 15 percent more clearly than their own? This makes it easy for us to fall into an illusion of superiority. In the area of leadership, this becomes dramatic: many people leader higher standards of responsibility to leader than to themselves. This is definitely an act of self-disempowerment.
In my opinion, it is sensational to realize that leader do not see and fulfillresponsibility any better than other peopleresponsibility . Apparently, this topic is not a priority when it comes to qualifying and selecting managers. This raises the question of how responsibility is considered in selection processes. Together with profilingvalues, we have already developed and successfully implemented a diagnostic tool for measuring general responsibility Focus responsibility) and leadership responsibility (Leadership Excellence Report). You can find a free self-test with quick evaluation in comparison to the average population at www.verantwortungsindex.de.
Would you like to learn more about the Leadership Excellence Report? Then come to the 7th profilingvalues Annual Congress in Berlin on June 15, 2018. The theme of the congress is "Value-oriented leadership – guidelines for leadership and self-reflection." In addition to presenting the leadership competence analysis, my presentation"Leading Simple© – Successful Leadership with a System"will answer questions such as: How do I lead myself? How do I allow myself to be led? How do I lead others? These are the three pillars of effective leadership. Because successful leadership means working successfully through others. Anyone who secures a ticket by March 15 will benefit from the "early bird" rate.
Let's work together to raise the quality of leadership and responsibility in organizations to a higher level. It's enjoyable and makes sense. A lot of sense, in fact!
I look forward to your visit.
Yours, Boris Grundl
