Shared Responsibility: A Case of " It's not me, it's you" and the other way around

Yeah, we've seen it in movies. People lashing out on companies,workers going apeshit in the workplace and employees wanting to get that right moment where they can get at least a cheap shot against their horrible bosses. Ring a bell? If you are an employee there's probably a chance that you've felt this(or still feeling it) at least once in your working life. So, yes, you are not alone! But hey forget about the "misery loves company" crap, let's get down to it. One of the primary issues in the workplace is employee connection and you might have seen this timeless quote in social media where Marcus Buckingham said that "People leave managers not companies". Although the quote might be as simple as it may sound, it is a very broad statement as people leave for a lot of reasons. People might have left because their managers were not able to cater to a certain need or they might have left because the manager was simply a douchebag. But there are also cases where some employees are too blind to see that they are the ones responsible for whatever they are feeling . Whatever the case may be, it all boils down to connection. And for us to connect better we have to understand our responsibilities. So, let's break this " It's not you, it's me" scenarios shall we?

P.S. I have listed some of the most common subjects of any business. I only tackled 3 responsibilities for each item 

Processes:

Team Member: 

1. It is your responsibility to understand how your processes work, after all your job is your bread and butter.
2. . It is your responsibility to question things that you do not understand, assuming and pretending to know it all will just get you nowhere.
3. It is your responsibility to absorb any new updates as your company grows and there will be a lot of changes in this growth. 

Leader:

1. It is your responsibility to ensure that your team members understand how processes work, after all your job to develop them is your bread and butter
2. It is your responsibility to understand that each of your team member has a different set of learning curves. So if Bob does not get a certain process the first time, understand that his comprehension is way different than that of Sandy. Never judge Bob or tell him that he is a dumbass
3. It is your responsibility to be up to date when it comes to any changes so your team is also in the loop about any changes. No matter how busy you are, remember, you are the captain of the ship

Coaching and Feedback

Team Member:

1. It is your responsibility to track your own progress when it comes to the opportunities that you have to work on. 
2.  It is your responsibility to speak up about your concerns. How many times have you heard about Silent Tim from work who just went on full-Doomsday on his bosses as he had so much hatred against management? Don't let shitty negativity accumulate, it is not healthy. Speak up, at the end of the day whether your point is right or wrong, you will learn something
3. Your emotions are your responsibility. If you feel butt-hurt about a certain feedback try to reflect why you are feeling it.Was it the way it was given to you? Was it because you were already having a bad day? Or was it because you know you were right? Whatever the case may be,find it out, breathe and stay focused . There are no invalid emotions, cry if you must. Feeling something is a sign of being human, embrace it 

Leader:

1. It is your responsibility to develop your team members. Tracking their progress is just the tip of the iceberg. Connecting with them through coaching is another thing, a simple "How was your weekend?" can do wonders. 
2. It is also your responsibility to let them know if you won't be able to catch up with them and set up another time to meet them. In this fast-paced and numbers-driven corporate world, one could get lost in the sea of work that needs to be done. But captain, trust me when I say that you have sailors who are starving to know more about how to get better in throwing the anchor, cleaning the deck and ultimately mastering how to get that ship down to shore. So value their scheduled coaching time, if there are delays, let them know what's going on and what the plan of action is 
3. If you are a leader, empathy should be 2nd nature to you. After all, you are in the business of connecting with people. Empathizing with your team members' challenges during coaching will make them feel that someone understands their hurdles and that their thoughts are being valued

Conflict Management

Team Member:

1. It is your responsibility to always dig deep in any conflict. Never jump to conclusions. 
2. It is your responsibility to manage your emotions when handling conflict . There will be times where people will test you. Whether it be an annoying customer or Johnny from another department who keeps on messing with you. When dealing with this people, arm yourself with curiosity and ask yourself "Why are they like this?". As there are probably reasons why they are like that. 

Leader: 

1. It is your responsibility to assist your team members when they are challenged in handling conflict
2. It is your responsibility to come up with ways on how to develop your team members in handling conflict. Arm them with the wisdom you gained though experience. Involve them in the process so they too can reflect on how they could have handled a certain conflict

So, that's it! These may be things that you already know, I just want to post this up as a reminder! 

Lastly, if you are a Spiderman fan you might have heard Uncle Ben saying" With great power comes great responsibility". Tweak the position of the words a bit and you'll get this gem of a line that you can always remind yourself. " With great responsibility comes great power!

Stay Awesome!