It can be easy to forget but there are some major differences between taking responsibility and taking credit.
Taking credit is the easy part. Taking credit can look like self promotion. Sometimes it looks like showing a project to your team when you know your project will improve the way your team works. Taking credit feels good. Usually, we like to take credit when we accomplish something we think is noteworthy.
Taking responsibility isn’t always easy. Taking responsibility is looking at something and recognizing that it needs to be better. Taking responsibility does not have the same feel good feelings attached to it.
The biggest difference is the internal aspect. Taking credit is an outward action. Taking responsibility has to happen internally.
When you take responsibility, you take ownership. Maybe it was a project you worked on that did not go as planned. Maybe it was a situation that wasn’t handled with grace and class. Maybe you led a team that failed to accomplish its primary goal. Taking responsibility in those situations is not going to give you the warm fuzzies.
But both actions are the key for personal and professional growth. When you only take one and not the other, you sell yourself short.
By only taking responsibility, you paint a picture of yourself as a failure. Sure, you could grow from those moments but after a while, management (or your spouse/family/friends) will begin to wonder why you are even here.
By only taking credit, people begin to wonder. At first you may seem to be the office rock star, but after a while, people start wonder where you are when things aren’t going well. After all, if you are amazing at everything you do, there’s this giant list of junk that no one else could fix. How are you going to fix it when all eyes are on you? Later on, your coworkers will wonder if you even deserved any of the credit you received in the first place.
As with most everything in life, there is a delicate balance to maintain between the two. And the people who are good at maintaining that balance are probably the people who are advancing in your office. And the same people who are good at maintaining the balance are also the people who are good at office politics.
Once you gain skill in maintaining the balance, taking responsibility will have more to do with take ownership of an area of your company and less to do with taking responsibility for what may have gone wrong.
And that always feels very good.
Carmella Tress said...
1Have I told you lately that I miss you? I love the way your mind works and the challenging, reflective, insightful posts you write. Sometimes taking responsibility feels sickening, but HAS to be done. It’s what lengths we are willing to go to in our efforts to grow as people that matter in the long run… humility, honesty, and taking responsibility are major parts of that.
(parts I still need to work on…)
02/10/09 11:34 AM | Comment Link
Rebecca said...
2Great post – it’s definitely scary to take responsibility but necessary and actually takes the weight off your shoulders. And as Carmella says, it takes a good dose of humility.
02/10/09 1:39 PM | Comment Link
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