Enjoying some of these weighty topics! This week's topic has a few definitions, depending on the subject (e.g. a company vs a person), and the object to which the responsibility pertains (something large that cannot completely come under the purview of the subject in question (e.g. social responsibility) vs something unique to the subject and under their complete control (e.g. coaching a football team)). To use politics as an example, an individual politician needs to "buy in" to the collective responsibility to use tax-payer money wisely (at least theoretically!), but has the individual responsibility of representing the interests of his/her electorate who voted for them in the first place. Today I will concentrate on more of the later: personal responsibility

Unfortunately it seems to be something people shirk these days. There is a large number of people who want success in life - fame, money, power etc. - but who are unwilling to make the sacrifice, put in the hard work (these sound like 2 future blog topics!) or take on the responsibility required to attain and maintain such success. People are very keen to take the success and credit, but are unwilling to risk potential negative outcomes by putting their name down as the person responsible for a project/opinion etc.

I don't blame people for this attitude! As soon as something goes wrong in life, the mob want someone to point the finger at, someone to blame. This attitude is hardly encouraging for any would-be leader wanting to take on a role with any accountability. The need to find someone to blame is pervasive, in companies looking for a scape goat to assuage public condemnation; or in individual lives, looking to deflect blame. I'm certainly guilty of this - many times I have gotten upset at my wife for "moving" a pantry item/clothing or similar, only to find it in my own "intelligently" chosen location!

The act of taking responsibility voluntarily is still one I find people admire - particularly for an unwanted role. It is usually a role where the reward is not immediate or obvious; however it is often a point that requires stretch, endurance and learning new skills. These opportunities are where growth happens, adding to our experience, broadening understanding and adding to our stories that we can then pass on to the next person (another aspect of being responsible - succession planning).

A key part to being responsible is owning mistakes. In my field when I was first training to be a doctor, often legal advice after a mistake was made in the care of a patient was "do not admit fault". This never really sat well with most of my colleagues, most of whom were getting into the profession for altruistic reasons and morally grated with them. Most, if not all would go along with this tactic however, partly because the majority of us had been busy studying medicine, not the legal aspects; and also because there was the question as to whether insurance companies would cover you if you had admitted fault. As I progressed through however, this attitude seemed to change to one that seems more morally sound, with the latest advice being to directly contact a patient that has suffered from a negative outcome (written and/or talking) and to apologise for this. I believe it took some actual research studies to show that most people just want to know that we cared and would acknowledge that their outcome was less than ideal.

Even one of the oldest stories there is talks about owning mistakes: the story of Adam and Eve. While people may not be Old Testament aficionados, many people will know this story. I'll paraphrase here: God creates man and woman and sets them in a perfect paradise garden (Eden). He then gives man and woman responsibility to look after this creation; telling them that "you may eat from any tree in the garden except one". God then advises what the consequence would be for disobeying this command (dire). Unfortunately the couple end up failing this test: first Eve and then Adam.

The story up to this point already has many points to consider, but its what is said next that is pertinent to our discussion. God then comes to find the couple cowering and hiding from him as he asks "Did you eat from the tree I told you not to?" Here I see the parent with any disobedient child, giving them the chance to come clean and be truthful; however Eve blames the serpent and then Adam blames both Eve and audaciously blames God himself for having given him the woman in the first place!! God, then clearly disappointed at the broken relationship with the creation he loves has to hand out the justified punishment.

What ever your feeling is regarding the Jewish/Christian faith, there is clearly much wisdom that can be taken from this story. Would the punishment have been as severe if Adam and Eve had simply owned their own mistakes? I know in my life if I owned my mistakes (I think I would be batting well below the 50% average on that!) while the aftermath wasn't pleasant, it was far less unpleasant than lying or denying responsibility.

Owning mistakes and being accountable is a mark of character, integrity and maturity that unfortunately these days only some people are reaching.

"'Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?' The man said, 'The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.' Then the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'" Gen 3 v 11b - 13

"He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." Prov 28 v 13