Thought: Radical responsibility

Through a quirk of organisational fate, I have two pastoral managers. It's an interesting dynamic as they share their responsibility. One week I'll get the  more empathic one, the next the more challenging one.

Yesterday, it was my appraisal and I had a rare chance to see them both in action at the same time.  They were a good double act - and I could see how fluidly and seamlessly they work together.

Anyhow, the more challenging one reminded me of something I'd come across through Tim Ferriss' interview with Jocko Willink - a former Navy Seal.  It's called Radical responsibility, or alternatively - if I remember correctly - Extreme Ownership.

The idea goes like this.

Don't blame others for failure. We are all want to do this on occasion, or even by default. My heart sinks when I find myself instantly responding in a way which does this.

Instead, assume responsibility for everything, everywhere. The ultimate aim is to empower you to reflect and figure how you could have fixed things.

An example. Instead of blaming the thunderstorm that wasn't forecast for ruining your picnic, work out what you could have done differently. In this case, maybe erect a shelter or had an alternative activity ready to go after the first distance rumble.

My manager talked about his experience of coming across the concept after a tough situation.

"I read it, and...", they said.
"...instantly hurled the book across the room?", I offered hopefully while miming the throw.
"No. It was like Mea Culpa. It was right".

And it was. Mea Culpa indeed.  Radical responsibility, a radical way of reframing a situation to learn from it.  They did finish by pulling back slightly, and saying the truth might be somewhere in the middle between complete ownership and blaming others or the situation.

That wasn't the only useful insight from this year's appraisal, but it was certainly one of the more memorable and shareable ones.