Commitment 01:
Responsibility
Taking full responsibility for one’s circumstances (physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually) is the foundation of true personal and relational transformation.
Conscious leadership and teams take full responsibility – radical responsibility – instead of placing blame. This means locating the cause and control of our lives in ourselves, not in external events.
Instead of asking “Who’s to blame?” conscious leaders ask, “What can we learn and how can we grow from this?”
From Above the Line
By Me:
I commit to taking full responsibility for the circumstances of my life, and my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing. I commit to support others to take full responsibility for their lives.
From below the Line
To Me:
I commit to blaming others and myself for what is wrong in the world. I commit to be a victim, villain, or a hero and take more or less than 100% responsibility.
Practice It:
Step 1
Identify an issue/problem/potential about anything going on in your life. Speak about the issue in “unenlightened” terms. Be dramatic. Ham it up. Blame overtly.
Step 2
Step into 100% responsibility. Physically find a place in the room that represents your commitment to being 100% responsible for the situation.
Step 3
Gain insight by completing these statements, repeating each of them several times, until you have what feels like a breakthrough:
- From the past this reminds me of...
- I keep this issue going by...
- What I get from keeping this issue going is...
- The lifelong pattern I'm noticing is...
- I can demonstrate 100% responsibility concerning this issue by...
Step 4
If during Step 3, you don’t experience a shift, go back to Step 1 and repeat the process.
OR
LISTENING TO YOUR QUESTIONS
Finally, we have learned that you can tell what kind of a leader you are and what kind of a culture you are creating by paying attention to the kinds of questions you ask.
In blame cultures, where people take more or less than 100% responsibility, we hear leaders and everyone else ask these questions:
- Who did it?
- Why did it happen?
- What is the root cause?
- Who participated in the chain of events that led to this?
- Who dropped the ball?
- Who's going to fix it?
On the other hand, in curiosity/learning cultures, where people take 100% responsibility, leaders and others ask these questions:
- Am I willing to take full responsibility for this situation?
- What do I really want?
- If there were no obstacles, what would I be doing with my creative energy?
- Am I willing to learn whatever it is I most need to learn about this situation?
- Am I willing to see all others involved as my allies?
- Am I willing to see myself as empowered in this situation?
- How can I play with this situation?
- Where and when do I feel most alive?
- What am I distracting myself from doing or knowing?
