More than 10 years ago, in October 18, 2007, at the Howard Johnson Hotel in Bucharest, HR Club organized a conference at which I’ve first seen Nigel Risner. His talk was about “How to Create IMPACT as an HR Partner”.
At some point, he asked for volunteers to a task which anyone should have volunteered to (be in front of people, be applauded). He picked the fastest person to raise his hand, and then asked a curious question to a participant – “Why didn’t you raise your hand?”. And the answer came “He was faster than me.”, to which Nigel Replied “So, it’s his fault?”
The thing is, a lot of people defend their actions by externalizing reasons.
- “I don’t run, because it’s wet outside” vs. “It’s my choice and responsibility for choosing not to run today”.
- “I was told I’m not good with this” vs. “I tend to look into the past, as opposed to present and future”.
- “But I already told him that” vs. “I should have insisted more, and also check if the message was well understood”.
We tend to do this a lot – blaming external factors. It’s a very powerful thing to be accountable.
Thank you, Nigel!
Lessons for the weekend
Take 100% responsibility for how you feel
Stop blaming others
Life may not always be fair,but the first step in taking back your power is Personal Responsibility #leadership #letitgo #motivation pic.twitter.com/YELM8GKPJZ— Nigel Risner (@Nigelrisner) February 3, 2018
