Leaders are responsible

“Everyone has a boss…”, from the President of the United States to the worker on a factory assembly line. Leadership and responsibility go hand in hand, you cannot have one without the other, in fact, leadership without responsibility is similar to a dictatorship; accountability without leadership is extremely frustrating at best or an exercise in futility at worst.

Accountability is like an invisible constraint placed around a leader’s ability to operate and control. One definition of accountability is to be bound by an obligation to report, explain, or justify something or to be responsible for some action or purpose. Accountability therefore equates to responsibility for a result that you may be asked to account for.

Accountability is a way of thinking, a way of thinking where results matter and the leader is personally invested in the result for which they are accountable…and leaders take that very seriously. The mindset of responsibility is infused into everything a leader does and guides the leader toward achieving the desired intent. If you aspire to be a leader, take responsibility because when you are responsible, you can be counted on to deliver results, the hallmark of great leaders.

Organizational leaders have a higher level of responsibility placed on their shoulders because they are responsible for the success or failure of an organization; this includes managing the organization’s resources, caring for its staff, and producing bottom line results. Have you ever wondered why some people don’t want to be leaders? I think it’s because leaders are responsible for getting results and some people see this as too much pressure. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to get the job done…no excuses. Jedi Grand Master Yoda, from the movie Star WarsHe said it best, “To do it or not to do it, there’s no try.”

As a leader, you are responsible for what you do and with this responsibility comes the knowledge that you are on the hook for the results you produce. This implies that a leader cannot simply do what he wants; she is responsible for what her organization does or does not do. We all have to answer to someone… who do you answer to?

If you want to verify your level of responsibility, ask yourself the following questions. If you want to check the path you’re on, ask yourself: are we headed in the right direction? If you want to check the level of quality you are producing, ask: do we meet or exceed the standards or are our standards high enough? If you want to check how effective it is, ask: are we focused on doing the right things? If you want to check how efficient it is, ask yourself: are we doing the right things, the right way?

Tips to be more responsible as a leader:

• Understand what you are responsible for
• Review the policies, guidelines, and regulations that relate to your mission and goals
• Always deal honestly and fairly with your supporters and constituents
• When you’re wrong, admit it early and often…and fix the situation quickly.
• Never try to hide a potential problem; serious problems do not improve with age or time