Yes, Virginia, there is a silver bullet

Yes, Virginia, there IS a silver bullet

Consultants love to bemoan how clients yearn for a silver bullet - a magical answer that solves their problems instantly.

Of course, there's no such thing as a single magical answer to any business problem. Real change within organizations requires focused work, including careful attention to the specific situation and desired outcome.

But there is a single attribute that will make all the difference to the results of your change initiative. And it's such a powerful attribute that I often refer to it as a silver bullet in terms of the seemingly-magical effect it has.

The effect of this attribute is widespread across more than just the immediate change being implemented. It impacts your team's and your organization's productivity, morale, and capacity to sustain the changes you're making.

What is this single attribute?

Very simple: everyone involved takes 100% of the responsibility.

One hundred percent of the responsibility for managing their tasks, communicating with others, and getting things done.

One hundred percent of the responsibility for speaking up when challenges arise, staying focused on the realities of the situation, and problem-solving.

One hundred percent of the responsibility for meeting target dates, staying within the budget, and celebrating success.

If there are five people on the project team, each owning 100% of the responsibility, there's 500% responsibility in the room. As you might imagine, this is very powerful.

But right now, your brain is probably spinning in circles. Does this mean (you may be wondering) that you're responsible for completing someone else's tasks?

No. That's the martyr role: someone who takes more than 100% of the responsibility. Similarly, the person who procrastinates is someone who takes less than 100% of the responsibility.

Taking 100% of the responsibility means you acknowledge and step up to the full scope of what's yours to do.

And when everyone on a team does this together, the results are, yes, magical.

For more insight into this, including the ways that people default to victim/martyr or hyper-responsible roles (both of which take *more* than 100% responsibility), check out these videos from Gay and Katy Hendricks, especially the first and third. They are, as you can see by the run-times shown, brief - and well worth the three to four minutes required.

https://www.hendricks.com/healthy-responsibility-i (4:40)

https://www.hendricks.com/healthy-responsibility-ii (3:57)

https://www.hendricks.com/healthy-responsibility-iii (3:15)

https://www.hendricks.com/healthy-responsibility-iv (4:14)