This Year, Take Responsibility!

If you want to succeed this year, do so by taking responsibility.

This means that you are responsible for your own success. The daily assignments, the monthly tasks, the quarterly targets, the annual objectives can only come to fruition if you take responsibility for them.

Taking responsibility means taking ownership. Know what the task requires, know what resources you require to get the job done, marshal those resources, allocate time and personnel to get the job done, develop a tracking mechanism, take corrective actions when necessary.

Taking responsibility means that your actions determine the outcomes. You should be working towards the outcomes you want to achieve. Focus on what needs to be done and eliminate things that deter you from accomplishing the goals you have set.

Taking responsibility though does not mean you take blame. Responsibility means you actively control the situation. Taking blame means resigning yourself to the situation. Circumstances, limited resources, limited time, even limited talent or skills may suggest that your goal will not be met. You can take a backseat and say that you were not able to accomplish your tasks because of a number of reasons. Or you can step forward and work towards the achievement of what can be done.

Taking responsibility ensures that work gets done. You may not reach your goal, but you will have achieved growth. You will have gotten closer to what you wanted to achieve. You will have learned what works and what does not. Taking responsibility will ensure that you will be able to analyze and improve.

You will be a better person for having taken responsibility and your company would have improved through better revenues and growth.