Having responsibility is the duty or obligation to act. Taking responsibility is acknowledging the choices you have made, the actions you have taken, and the results they have led to. True autonomy leads to both having responsibility and taking responsibility. Responsibility is an essential element of integrity, it is the congruence of what you think, what you say, and what you do.

Definitions

1. Having a duty or obligation to act
2. Acknowledging the choices you have made, the actions you have taken, and the results they have led to.
3. Able to meet commitment made to yourself and others
4. Keeping the promises you make
5. Doing everything you say you will do, or have lead others to expect from you. Do what you say!

Dispersion and Focus

There is an unfortunate tendency for an individual to seek increasing authority and focus it on themselves while dispersing responsibility throughout an organization and avoiding it themselves. This is especially true in a typical bureaucracy. This allows an individual to increase their power by constraining the activities of others, while providing themselves with a way to avoid difficult decision making and distribute blame and avoid accountability. As a defense, to increase accountability, those that rely on performance of a bureaucracy seek to focus responsibility and and disperse authority. [say much more about this. consider including the bureaucrat's handbook]

Irresponsible Gambits

Many people are very skillful in disguising the responsibly they have for the choices they make and the actions they take. Here are some of the most common tricks.

Playing the Victim

You are playing the victim and shirking your responsibility when you are acting like you have no choice, choosing to remain powerless, declining to act, blaming others, or failing to see constructive alternatives. These are all ways to "play the victim" and deny the responsibility you can take.

Blaming the Victim

Quotations:

• "We've gotten to the point where everybody's got a right and nobody's got a responsibility" ~ Newton Minow.
• "With great power comes great responsibly" ~ Spiderman
• "With freedom comes responsibility"  ~ Edward Deci
• "Responsibility—true responsibility—requires that people act autonomously in relation to the world around, that they behave authentically on behalf of some general good." ~ Edward Deci

References