“Accountability breeds response-ability.”
– Stephen R. Covey
I have a friend who thinks the government should take care of everything and everyone. (Yes, really, she is my friend. I don’t understand it, I just go with it….she’s likeable…). That abdication of responsibility and accountability absolves her from any response-ability. In other words, it makes her unable to respond…
I like Covey’s hyphen. It moves us from thinking about blame to thinking about action. I mean, if someone else is accountable and responsible, then I need not respond at all, right?
I can just sit here…
(This pause is illustrative of me, just sitting here…)
Or, not.
If impact is our goal, then onus and accountability are cousins. Some people are given accountability, and some feel that the onus is on them to take it. The latter peeps are my type.
The trite saying from which Tony Robbins and other “van-down-by-the-river-types” have made millions from – “If it is to be, it is up to me,” – is only trite because so many people toss it out there and then don’t change behaviors. Factually, it’s pretty much right there, looking us in the eye.
Responding instead of reacting. Accountability instead of abdication. Impact over activity. Difference making stuff.
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