Responsibility and Accountability--The Key to Personal and Professional Development

In a seminar last week, as well as with a in discussion with a friend this week, I was asked what someone can do when they have a difficult workplace relationship with someone, and that person is not open to change or growth.    This is a difficult situation, because, at least for me, I cannot control the actions of others (my children remind me of this lesson every day).  

How I responded to this question was that for any transformation process to take place in any aspect of my work life or personal life, the first step is for me to take responsibility for situation and realize my contribution to the state of affairs.  If I am not willing to acknowledge this, I am likely to continue stuck in the situation.   This applies whether I am talking about a difficult relationship, the state of my career, my work life balance (or lack of it) , etc.

Once I have taken responsibility, then I am able to think proactively about solutions that I had never considered before.  What if I try approaching this person in an entirely different way, or take new steps for professional development with respect to my career? These options may not have appeared to be available to me prior to me having this mindset.  The other key is to make certain that the strategies that I put into place are sufficiently challenging so that they will alter the current situation, ideally for the better.

Finally, I need to take accountability for the results I produce.   The steps I take may be productive, neutral or counterproductive, but only through accountability can I take the information and improve upon it as a learning experience.