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When leaders assume “responsibility,” they take ownership of a situation, managing it in as many dimensions as necessary so that problems are resolved and all the moving parts operate in sync. They may need to call on skills they didn’t know they had —or develop new ones fast.
But beyond skills, responsibility is an attitude. It implies attentiveness, and the will to make hard choices. It means that you can take the heat and stand up for what you think is right. Ultimately, it means that you don’t just think inside whatever box you’re in. You take prudent risks; you exercise imagination; you don’t stop trying until the change that needs to happen happens.
Of course, everyone makes mistakes. Leaders sometimes make the mistake of thinking they’re not supposed to make mistakes (or, at least, not to seem as though they have). So they fudge and backtrack. They deflect blame and offer excuses.
But responsible leaders acknowledge mistakes and set about fixing them. In this sense, they take the long view. They understand that, down the road, people will respect their transparency and appreciate the proactive effort that, ideally, made things right (or, at least, better). So, a leader’s assuming responsibility can determine how people ultimately regard the leader.
Think of responsibility as testing your mettle in public. Have you shown yourself to be honest? Are you strong, and strategic enough to get out in front of situations before the fallout overtakes the whole enterprise? These are crucial questions, if only because trust is crucial to a leader’s continuing success. When that trust begins to fray, people pay less attention to what a leader says to restore that trust.
The result is a negative feedback loop: more explanation and more excuses just lead to greater loss of trust, the opposite of what the leader intended. The predicament can balloon from a minor issue to one that feels existential, on which no amount of repair work has any effect. This all could have been avoided with some initial honesty.
In effect, the best leaders know how to head off crises resulting from the loss of trust. They think ahead,and take account of what their constituents will need to know to remain confident in the leader. It requires understanding the people who are being led and working with them to the extent that they feel understood, even respected.
But responsibility also refers to looking after a project or an enterprise so that it continually responds to new demands and everyone involved remains employed, satisfied, and high-functioning. It requires clearing away obstacles as well as mentoring the next generation of vital employees. So, responsibility requires cultivating what might be considered old-fashioned virtues, notwithstanding the trend towards leaders who view themselves as hired problem-solvers, who never fully commit themselves long-term.
In my practice, I advise leaders to approach leadership as they would a relationship, where “commitment” requires alertness to whatever may come up and a willingness to address it. Leaders can’t just say “Well, I’m here to fix this or that, but I’m not engaged in the success of this enterprise long-term.” No one responds to such an attitude (at least not positively). Why should anyone offer their commitment in return, except on a quid pro quo basis that leaves no room for spontaneity, generosity, or even far-sightedness.
There should be a sense that “We’re in this together, no matter how things finally shake out.” Thus, a leader should be open to what may happen—that is, what doesn’t need fixing now but may need fixing once most immediate concerns have been met.
Everyday leaders who commit themselves to working with people—not just handing down orders—can recover from their mistakes, take on new responsibilities, stand up for ethical imperatives. They address problems in an organization as they would in their own lives: not passively, with a palpable indifference, but actively and with a commitment to do whatever it takes to succeed. They forget about their comfort zones. Such leaders are complicated, sometimes fighting rearguard actions against their own regrets or limitations (it’s rare for a leader to separate themselves entirely from their personality, but they can work on renovations).
Of course, a leader’s ultimate responsibility is to ensure a seamless transition to the next generation of leadership. Here too, they must step outside their comfort zone, since who likes planning their own departure? Who likes admitting that the company they built may look and feel different? The final story in this chapter addresses this challenge. Particularly, it takes up the importance of mentorship, as the prior leader grooms the new one while resisting the urge to be possessive.
Leadership Essential Reads
In assuming responsibility, the leaders in these stories figure out how to create change and manage it effectively. They show resilience (a huge component of taking on responsibility over the long haul). They exercise imagination. Take-aways from these stories include:
• Taking on responsibility is a form of damage control, reflecting on the leader’s skills, tolerance for risk, and commitment.
• The responsible leader is always thinking ahead, even while he or she may be swamped by immediate concerns.
• Taking responsibility reflects a willingness to change one’s outlook, habits, and ways of relating to other people; it means getting out of your comfort zone.
• If love means never having to say you’re sorry, then responsibility is just the opposite: Leaders show their human side and respect other people’s humanity
• By taking responsibility, leaders discern problems and determine how to fix them; they commit resources strategically.
None of this comes easily. But the responsible leader is a good strategist. He or she figures out how to get from A to B and beyond by well-coordinated steps that add up to good strategy. But “strategy” should never exclude the human element. The best strategies depend on the human element to have the greatest effect. This is why cultivating one’s own humanity (one’s empathy and attentiveness) lays the groundwork for good leadership skills.
