Building a Culture of Responsibility and a Super Charged Team
I grew up with parents that worked hard. Maybe you did too. They were true blue-collar people that believed you did your job well, you didn’t complain, and you gave it your all. As a kid living in that environment, we seemed to always be working on something. Often when I wanted to go play with my pals, it was thwarted by, "Not before you . . ." They were from the generation that fixed everything themselves, NEVER hiring it out to contractors. We roofed our own house, painted our own house, fixed our own septic system, tilled our own garden etc., etc., etc. We were the handymen. We were the laborers. We took full responsibility for the work.
When I got older, I carried this ethic into my career pursuits. I thought that’s just what you did.You owned your work. You took responsibility for the whole job. You went above the call per se. But when I got into leadership roles, managing and hiring people, I found not everyone had that same work ethic. Moreover, I noticed that some did their jobs well, which was good, but others did their jobs PLUS more. They cared about more than just what they were directly responsible for.
I heard Andy Stanley talk about it in terms of authority and responsibility. When you hire someone, they’re given authority to do certain work. They get a job description and they stay in that lane. What makes certain team members really stand out is when they also take responsibility for the company, for more than just what’s in the job description. In fact, team members that do more than what’s in their lane, typically earn more influence and future opportunities.
So as leaders our job is to foster a culture that helps team members achieve success in their areas of authority, but also help them see that taking responsibility for the company is to their benefit and that of many others. If/when you make this happen your company will stand out and your success metrics will go through the roof.
Four ways to move your team beyond authority to responsibility:
1. Hire It
Add people to your team that have demonstrated taking responsibility for more than what they’re hired to do in prior roles. Ask for specific examples in the interview process.
2. Model It
Show what it looks like. Be a leader that exemplifies the responsibility thing well. You can talk about it all day, but your actions will speak louder. And of course, do your own job well, by owning your lane and crushing that too.
3. Celebrate It
Positively affirm and applaud teammates that are taking responsibility for the company. This can be privately like in your 1:1 meetings and/or more publicly in front of a bigger team. The latter is powerful because other teammates see what it looks like to go beyond their area of authority.
4. Promote It
Reward those that are doing their job well (authority) AND consistently demonstrating responsibility. Elevating team members that are exceptional in this area strengthens your company and builds leaders that can help you scale your organization to new levels.
When you do all this, I’m quite confident you will stand out above the competition, and you’ll have a team of excellent and rising leaders. And it really doesn’t cost you much to put all of this in place. Make it happen so your organization can do even more good!