The Greatness Project

Greater Responsibility

October 15, 2004

In August’s Greatness Project article, we noted research by Dr. Thomas K. Connellan identifying three factors that help people achieve success: positive expectations, increased responsibility, and more feedback. This month, we take a deeper look at the second factor, greater responsibility.

Asked to imagine greater responsibility most of us would groan out loud. We have plenty to do without adding more to current commitments. Yet, during consultations with work teams and individuals around the country we always ask these two questions: First, “are you too busy?” The answer is always “yes.” Second, “could you do more?” Again, the answer is almost always “yes.” While most days are filled with tasks, people feel their strengths are not being used.

To grow into greatness, we have to accept greater opportunities to stretch. This is uncomfortable, challenging, and taxing, and yet there’s no better way to learn about our limitations and our possibilities. During an interview on National Public Radio, jazz musician Branton Marsalis explained how he accepts opportunities to play classical music with orchestras because doing so makes him realize how much he does not know. He accepts the responsibility of playing a different piece type of music because he believes he can learn from it. We too are able identify growth opportunities and capitalize on them whenever we step up to greater responsibility.

Where have you accepted new responsibility as an opportunity to grow? Most of us are wary of anything that adds to our current workload. But, those who seek to develop themselves and succeed in greater arenas willingly accept or even explore new opportunities. We suggest that accepting greater responsibility—in a reasonable way—is one way to establish a pattern of growth.

We can also help others achieve more by providing them with more responsibility as a way to learn. “Empowerment” is a concept that has reached almost mythological status among those tossed around to help others succeed. We warn that empowerment can become abandonment when individuals are given new opportunities without the training or the support to succeed.

Consider one debriefing tactic used by the military to help glean the most learning from new experiences. Note how the strategy does not focus on blame (if something went wrong), but on what has been learned; military personnel call these AARs (After Action Reviews). When something occurs (positively or negatively) in an engagement, the individuals involved are asked these questions:

What was supposed to happen?
What did happen?
What accounts for the difference?
What can we learn?

You might want to try this technique to help understand the meaning and value of new experiences—either ones you undertake or while debriefing ones undertaken by others. More responsibility, as Dr. Connellan discovered, can augment an individual’s growth, especially if those involved help him or her to recognize what has been learned and to grow from it.