Genuine leaders take responsibility – for themselves and for their people.
Responsibility is the ability to assess your own capabilities and the consequences of your decisions, and to act so that the goals are most likely to be achieved – combined with the willingness to answer for it if things fail.
The quality in detail
Four steps through the quality: understand, check, connect, apply. Open any topic to read more.
The core messageWhat the quality means – and what it doesn’t
Genuine leaders answer for the consequences of their decisions – for their own actions and for the people entrusted to them. You do not shift responsibility onto others.
- It does not mean
- That you have to carry or control everything alone. You can hand over tasks; doing so does not hand over responsibility for the whole.
- That you should take all the blame on yourself. You answer for your share and say openly what others need to contribute.
- Strictly speaking
- Supported by research: people who feel responsible are more engaged and more likely to initiate change. Accountability improves judgments only under certain conditions, though, and whether genuineness in particular produces responsibility has not been tested.
- The core statement defines “genuine” by taking responsibility, so it holds almost by definition. Read it as an aspiration, then: this is how leadership should be. Watch out for the excuses people use to let themselves off the hook – including your own.
- Applies to
- Decisions in a company, to offices in church and club, to parents toward their children, and to your own life, where you cannot blame the government, your boss or circumstances.
The explanationWhat the quality means and why it matters
Taking responsibility is hard, and people easily find reasons to push it away – onto others, onto circumstances, onto “those at the top”.
Those who put the needs of the group before their own, by contrast, earn trust.
Genuine leadership starts with yourself: recognizing where you must take responsibility instead of leaving it to the government, your superiors or anyone else – whether in a project, as a volunteer or at the top of an organization.
The signs3 signs the quality is present · 3 that it is missing
- When something goes wrong, you first say “That’s on me” and only then look into the causes.
- You stand up for the people you are responsible for – team, project group or volunteers – when they come under attack from outside, and you address mistakes clearly internally.
- You keep what you promise – and when you can’t, you get in touch before others have to ask.
- When there are problems, you look for someone to blame first; when there are successes, you stand out front.
- You point to directives from above, the market or “the others” when decisions get uncomfortable.
- Tasks fall through the cracks between departments, committees or volunteers because no one feels responsible – including you.
The research6 sources: 3 reviews, 2 primary studies, 1 theory · 1975–2017 · with the limits of the research
- low
- moderate
- high
Moderate – Accountability, felt responsibility, moral disengagement.
- 1975Dale T. Miller & Michael Ross
People prefer to credit successes to themselves; the authors found little evidence for shifting blame for failures.
- 1991Jone L. Pearce & Hal B. Gregersen
Felt responsibility mediates between task interdependence and citizenship behavior.
- 1999Jennifer S. Lerner & Philip E. Tetlock
Accountability improves judgments only under certain conditions.
- 1999Elizabeth Wolfe Morrison & Corey C. Phelps
Felt responsibility predicts who initiates change.
- 1999Albert Bandura
Mechanisms by which people relieve themselves of responsibility.
- 2017Angela T. Hall, Dwight D. Frink & M. Ronald Buckley
State of research on accountability in organizations.
Felt responsibility fosters engagement. Accountability improves judgments only under certain conditions; the link to “sincerity” has not been tested.
The originJohn C. Maxwell · “Responsibility”
- 1999OriginJohn C. Maxwell
The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, Quality 16
- ResponsibilityIn essence: good leaders take responsibility instead of passing it on.
- todayWEGVISOR: Responsibility
The WEGVISOR version of “Responsibility” links responsibility with genuineness and extends it to the people entrusted to a leader. Research supports that felt responsibility encourages engagement; the link with genuineness is a value judgment, not a finding.
The related qualities and lawsL21 Legacy · Q04 Communication · L06 Solid Ground · L03 Process
Responsibility does not end with your term of office. Whoever prepares a successor takes responsibility for the time when they are no longer there.
Responsibility shows in candid words. Whoever names mistakes clearly and makes expectations plain enables others to carry responsibility too.
Whoever takes responsibility instead of shifting blame builds trust. Every time you pass the buck, a piece of the solid ground breaks away.
Responsibility grows with you. You learn it step by step through small tasks before larger ones are entrusted to you.
The action points5 stages of growth – from first awareness to passing it on
- Become aware This week, notice when you name “the others” or “the circumstances” as the reason, and write those sentences down without judging yourself for them.
- Lay the foundations If something you were involved in goes wrong this week, say openly once: “That was my mistake, I'll take care of it”, without adding a but.
- Make it a habit With every result, first ask yourself what part you played before you address others, and on Fridays note where you still looked to others for the cause first.
- Deepen deliberately The next time something goes wrong in your area of responsibility – project, group or team – stand in front of those involved and bear your share of the consequences yourself. Afterwards, ask two people you work closely with where they see you passing responsibility on.
- Pass it on This quarter, hand over a whole task together with the right to decide, and agree that everyone raises their own mistakes and stands by their results; if you lead leaders, give them whole areas and don’t step into their decisions.
The reflection questions5 questions for you or a conversation with others
- What did I last shift responsibility for – and onto whom?
- Would the people I work with say that I stand by them in difficult moments?
- Which promise have I failed to keep without getting in touch in time?
- Where do I confuse taking responsibility with doing everything myself – and take responsibility away from others, other leaders included?
- For which people do I carry responsibility without being aware of it?
Take your time with one question. Write down your answer – or talk it over with someone you trust.
The picture to rememberA golden umbrella opens over the team. Whatever comes from above is deflected.
- A golden umbrella opens over the team.
- Whatever comes from above is deflected.
What responsibility looks like in practice
He led while the nobles hesitated
Many Scottish nobles hesitated or collaborated with England – William Wallace filled the vacuum. In 1297 he fought on the front line at Stirling Bridge, and even after the defeat at Falkirk he refused to give up.
From war profiteer to rescuer of 1,200 people
Oskar Schindler initially profits from the war economy. Then he risks his life and his entire fortune to save more than 1,200 Jews from deportation – and in the end regrets not having saved more.
24 Grand Slams – and a role model for the young
Novak Djokovic holds the record of 24 Grand Slam titles and models discipline in training, nutrition and mental preparation for young players. Through his foundation he supports education and sport, including in Serbia.
