The Responsibility Plant

Mentorship. Passing the baton. Growing your legacy. Giving back. Paying it forward. Nurturing others' growth.

There are a lot of different ways to look at what it means to teach and grow responsibility in others. The idea is to pass on healthy habits, help avoid pitfalls, and set a pathway for others to follow. And if you’ve never taught before, you will quickly find that this is actually an integral step to more fully appreciating the lessons you have learned as well. Use this time to brush up a refresher course of good habits you might have lost sight of in the midst of growing your company, managing your team, or even just being an adult in society.

Here are a few places to start:

Set Boundaries - Remind yourself (and others on your team) that setting clear personal boundaries are essential for a healthy work/life balance. Take breaks, turn the office phone off on the weekends, work on a project to project basis...don’t attempt to constantly fill every minute of every day with tasks. Set refuel and refill times -- you cannot run on empty. Take self-care seriously. That includes YOU, Moms and Dads.

Delegate - Assign tasks to your team to cultivate a sense of ownership and responsibility. This could be everything from chores for the kids to running the Monday Leadership meeting. This is also accountability for yourself, allowing your direct-reports to learn and grow in their roles, and limiting any micromanagement tendencies you might be holding onto.

Recognize Differences - There are many paths to the same summit. Your way isn’t necessarily the only “right” way, or even the most efficient. Allowing your team or your teen, the autonomy of achieving the goal by their own pathway will go further than you might think toward invigorating their quality of participation.

Remember to Reward - Reinforcement is crucial. Just as you would follow through when corrective action is necessary, don’t fall short of also rewarding the job well done. Work bonuses can come in a large array of recognitions from PTO hours, gift cards, wage raises, house plants, movie passes, and endless creative other options. Making a point to say, “thank you,” and acknowledge a job well done should be basic 101 management, but is most frequently the most overlooked.

Responsibility isn’t about control. Don’t let growth stop with you.