Leadership Series – Taking 100% Responsibility

Whether you’re a leader at work or at home, leadership skills are incredibly important, both professionally and personally.  As you’ve probably experienced examples of good and bad leadership in your own life, you already understand that you’re either empowered and inspired, or you’re disempowered and discouraged.  A good leader can have a huge impact on a work environment as well as a home environment, just as a bad leader can have a detrimental effect on the people they lead.

While it’s incredibly easy to blame the people, places, and things in your life for the way you think, feel, and behave, this type of leadership just sets the tone for finger pointing, blame, and victimhood.  In order to be an effective leader, you need to start noticing when you’re blaming circumstances, and instead start taking 100% responsibility – for how you think, how you feel, how you act, how you react, and the results you ultimately create for yourself.

It’s important to understand that how you feel and then behave not only affects you, but how you act and react then becomes the circumstances that others are affected by as well.  Until you make the decision to take 100% responsibility, you’re just creating a vicious cycle of victimhood, for yourself and for others.

In order to start taking 100% responsibility, start by telling yourself “I feel (fill in the blank) because I’m thinking (fill in the blank).  For example:

• I feel frustrated because I’m thinking that he should have taken care of that
• I feel annoyed because I’m thinking that she shouldn’t ask so many questions
• I feel stressed because I’m thinking that this will never get done in time

Once you stop blaming and take 100% responsibility as a leader, that’s when things change.  You begin to see that you have more power when you’re not in blame mode, and you then use that power to be better and to do better.  From this position you can begin taking charge.  For example:

• I feel curious because I’m thinking that I wonder how I can help him take care of that
• I feel open because I’m thinking that she values my opinion which is why she’s asking so many questions
• I feel motivated because I’m thinking that I can totally get this done in time

As you begin to notice when you’re in victimhood, and instead choose to take 100% responsibility, that’s when you can become the leader you want to be.  That’s when others will be inspired to be and do their best as well.

Let’s be honest – the world needs better leaders at work and at home.  Are you ready to become a better leader?

Source: “The 15 Commitments Of Conscious Leadership”