One of the key concepts that I bring up when working with leaders and teams is the idea of taking 100% responsibility. Otherwise known as taking radical responsibility, this idea is the lynchpin of all of the other commitments in “The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership” by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Klemp.
Taking radical responsibility requires letting go of blame and judgment. When we focus on blaming and judging others, we place the locus of control outside of ourselves. When we take responsibility, we locate the cause and control of our lives inside ourselves.
100% responsibility is a magic number. When we take less than 100%, the locus of control is still outside of ourselves. Someone or something is doing something to us. When we take more than 100% responsibility we get into hero mode and do more than our share.
As this video on radical responsibility from The Conscious Leadership Group describes so clearly, high performing teams don’t just take a pie and divide up the slices. Instead, each person takes their 100% responsibility. This is a radical choice for team members (and citizens) to make.
Next time you feel the urge to blame, judge or criticize, I invite you to pause and ask, “What would it look like for me to take my 100% responsibility here?”