Why Has Personal Responsibility Disappeared?
Kent Jacobson, a.k.a. "Mr.Success"

Where has responsibility disappeared to in your life and those around you!  Do not cop out and say it is the societal norm… please; it is time for you to stand up and take responsibility back in your life and mentor those around you! You hear about responsibility every day, or better yet, lack there of.  All we hear about is how no body takes responsibility for their actions…or the kids have no responsibility or the parents…on and on. 

I have not heard anyone up techniques to teach and mentor responsibility, so here you are. Because I feel so strongly abut this, I offer to you my five techniques to re-train your self and teach those around you to be more responsible.  These proven techniques cross all gender lines and age groups. Integrating these five proven techniques will foster discussion, action and ultimately greater responsibility for everyone involved.

Let’s start by grounding ourselves in what responsibility truly is. Responsibility is defined as; 1: answerable for acts or decisions 2: able to fulfill obligations.  Wow, how much more simple can it get?  Are you with me on this!!

Five Techniques to get responsibility back:

1. Start with yourself, baseline you daily tasks and conversations as well as commitments you engage in. Do you meet definition 1 criteria?  Are you truly answerable for everything or do, or did you make up reasons why something did not get taken care of.  Maybe you have too much on your plate and you over commit without realizing it; this is not an excuse but often a reality for people …simplify.

2. Simplify your commitments and responsibilities as much as possible.  Start slow, take the time to recognize the signs that you are slipping out of the responsibility mode. This technique may require a little time, and only you can evaluate and eliminate the non value added portions of your day that my hinder your progression towards complete fulfilling the goal of *Taking Responsibility Back*.

3. Recognize the negative leading indicators in conversations or actions that drive you towards the *I’m not responsible for that…* plateau.  These indicators are any action or decision you do not stand behind, go back to definition number 1.  Remember how simple the definition is; guess what it still…is just practice it.

4. Lead by example, words are cheap. Live up to your commitment and commit to yourself to meet all the expectations. Act accordingly and you will soon realize people around you will follow your example. If they do not, don’t hesitate to call them out in a professional and non derogatory way. Simply reminded them of their decisions or commitments and if circumstance have changed fine, just communicate.

5. Mentor those around you who do not take responsibility as so defined in the dictionary. Professionally and non-derogatorily point out the facts (not your opinion) on a given decision or commitment.  The person may deny your statement and become controversial, just state the facts and carry on. You can not make a person more responsible than they want to be.