Taking Responsibility

Taking responsibility: yourself

Action orientation

You identify opportunities or problems and take action without being asked.

What do you do?

Initiate action to change or improve something if this has a positive effect on your work and/or that of others.
Remain alert to problems and try to prevent or limit them by taking swift action.
Make maximum use of the decision power and freedom you have and do not wait for the approval of others.

What do you find difficult?

“I often hesitate about the best course of action, as a result of which I fail to take action, or take action too late.”
“I’m sometimes too passive and hope that others will take the initiative, or wait until someone asks me.”
“If I’m not sure whether something is part of my job or responsibility, I hesitate to pick it up."

Perseverance

You take responsibility for the goals you have agreed upon and persevere until the result is achieved.

What do you do?

Formulate concrete and feasible goals and sub-goals for yourself and stay focused on the result.
After a setback, make extra efforts to still achieve the desired result.
Persevere in the face of resistance, disappointment, or setbacks until you achieve your goal or if it becomes evident that this is impossible.

What do you find difficult?

“I often start too many things simultaneously and then fail to meet all my commitments.”
“If a project or activity doesn’t go the way I imagined, I quickly lose my energy and motivation.”
“I can sometimes become bogged down in something or continue to work on it for too long, and ask too much of myself."

Clear expectations

You clearly communicate what others can and can’t expect from you.

What do you do?

In response to questions or requests from others, quickly and clearly communicate what is feasible and what not.
Keep asking questions until you understand clearly what is asked of you before saying yes or no to a request.
Set clear boundaries for yourself and make sure that the tasks you take on are realistic and match your abilities.

What do you find difficult?

“I’m often too optimistic and say yes to things that I don’t really have time for.”
“I sometimes take on a task only to find out later that I did not, or only partially, do what the other person expected of me.”

Taking responsibility: others

Providing frameworks and space

You make sure that roles, goals and approach for a project or initiative are clear and you let colleagues decide for themselves how to do the work.

What do you do?

Discuss the goal, desired result, and context of your project or research with the colleagues involved from the start.
Make agreements on the division of roles and tasks, and provide clarity or additional context when people ask for it.
Clearly indicate when something should be ready, and give others freedom to plan and execute this in their own way.

What do you find difficult?

“I often start with a project without having made concrete work agreements with my colleagues.”
“I find it difficult to let people do the work in their own way.”
“I often think that I am clear about expectations and frameworks, only to find out that this is not always the case."

Decisiveness

You make timely decisions after considering the opinions and interests of others, even if not all desired information is available.

What do you do?

Quickly assess a situation and make a decision, even if you doubt or lack information.
Make choices based on a balanced judgement and keep other people’s interests in mind.
Stand for your decision, explain it and take full responsibility for what you decided.

What do you find difficult?

“I spend too much time trying to find the best solution, as a result of which I’m not quick enough to take action.”
“I sometimes get stuck in the details or in the quantity of information.”
“Am I really in a position to take certain decisions?"

Addressing behaviour

You can be held responsible for your behaviour or commitments made, and you can address others on their behaviour or commitments made.

What do you do?

Respond calmly when someone confronts you, and show understanding for the effect you have on the other person.
Be clear, brief and factual when calling someone to account, and do this one-on-one.
Ask for a response or explanation when you speak to a colleague about their behaviour or them not meeting agreements, and offer help or advice if this might help.

What do you find difficult?

“I often don’t dare to confront colleagues about their behaviour or them not meeting agreements because I’m afraid of their response.”
“It doesn’t always feel safe to speak up; how do I know that it won’t be used against me?”
“I sometimes react strongly in the moment when someone calls me out on my behaviour."

Monitoring progress

You take corrective action timely, make adjustments or ensure that others take action in order to achieve the goals agreed.

What do you do?

Check on a regular basis whether your own work and that of others is going according to plan.
Address when people do not meet deadlines or when the results are not satisfactory.
Make concrete agreements after a meeting on who will be doing what and when, and monitor that this happens.

What do you find difficult?

“I sometimes find out too late that we’re behind schedule.”
“I find it difficult when someone doesn’t do what we agreed, and I don’t know how to solve it.”
“I’m sometimes too controlling when I want to know for sure that things are going as planned."

Taking responsibility: team

Give confidence

You express confidence in team members and make maximum use of available expertise and experience.

What do you do?

Delegate work and assignments as much as possible, in line with the employee’s capacities.
Let your team members know that you trust their knowlege, experience, and judgment.
Take a step back in important presentations or meetings, and let another team member take the stage.

What do you find difficult?

“I like to be in control and I tend to do too many things that others are perfectly capable of doing.”
“I easily delegate tasks, but I let go too fast when someone still needs direction, feedback, or guidance.”

Ownership

You create ownership with others and hold them accountable for their own performance and results that they can influence.

What do you do?

Give team members full responsibility and decision-making power for a project or task they can handle.
Actively involve employees in decisions that affect their own work, and integrate their ideas or feedback.
Make clear result agreements with each team member, and evaluate these regularly together.

What do you find difficult?

“I find it difficult to call team members to account when they fail to do what they agreed to do, in which case I often just take over and do it myself.”
“I become irritated if an employee blames external factors for a goal not being achieved.”

Balance

You safeguard the balance between the team’s capacity and what is required of them.

What do you do?

Ask for clear expectations and priorities from your own manager.
Maintain an overview of your team’s work load, and decide in consultation with the team how the work can best be divided.
If too much is being asked of your team, set new priorities and clear boundaries, and where possible, offer alternatives.

What do you find difficult?

“I usually say yes to new requests even if we don’t have the capacity for it. Who would do it otherwise?’”
“I don’t have a clear idea of the work load of each team member, or whether this is temporary or structural.”
“How do I maintain balance if I have no influence on the priorities of the department or organisation I am part of?”

Taking responsibility: team

Giving direction

You provide clarity and give direction to others in the face of complex or ambiguous challenges or issues.

What do you do?

Make it clear what the goals and ambitions are, and what the direction is for the organisation .
Create alternative scenarios or plans for complex problems and situations that may occur, and actively share these.
Foster a sense of community that sends a message of trust that together, big challenges can be overcome and desired results can be achieved.

What do you find difficult?

“At what moment do I intervene when we are at risk of veering off course?’”
“What do I personally do, and what do I ask of others, in terms of giving direction to the organisation?”

Vigor

You step forward and act decisively in ambiguous or uncertain situations, even if the consequences are not 100% predictable.

What do you do?

Say yes to a large or complex challenge or question where many aspects are unclear and the outcome is hard to predict.
Act decisively and make decisions when the situation requires it, even if other people don’t agree with you.
Openly confront others, whoever they are, when this is in the interest of the organisation.

What do you find difficult?

“I’m not likely to say yes to a project or challenge if I’m not sure whether it will be successful or whether I am able do it?’”
“What do I personally do, and what do I ask of others, in terms of giving direction to the organisation?”

Focus on the bigger picture

You link the goals of your organisation to the ambitions of the University to increase our impact for society and science.

What do you do?

Immerse yourself in the strategy and ambitions of the university and how these relate to the challenges and ambitions of your own organisation.
Invite people from the organisation to contribute with ideas and goals and how these can be linked to the goals of the university.
Make it clear what results your organisation has achieved and how they add value to the university.

What do you find difficult?

“I sometimes have very specific challenges that I have to prioritise, in some cases at the expense of devoting attention to something that is required at university level.”