On Saturday 13th May 2023 I had an epic day out in the Snowdonia mountains completing a 50k ultramarathon. Since then, I have had time to reflect on the importance of taking Personal Responsibility and ownership of our actions and their consequences, in both our personal and professional lives.
The course was as promoted, “savage beyond reason”, made worse by the very hot weather. It was my toughest physical and mental challenge. For 35% of the runners, the day did not go as planned. They either did not start, had to pull out (DNF) or were withdrawn by the marshals for missing the checkpoint cut-offs. Many unfortunately suffered with dehydration, heat exhaustion and cramps. There has been a lot of negative feedback, blaming the organisers, the course and the weather. These reasons will have been a contributing factor.
However, we are often guilty of blaming others and circumstances when things do not go as planned. Maybe we need to take Personal Responsibility ?
It appears that some individuals did not take additional precautions on the day, to compensate for the extreme circumstances. For example, not applying sun cream, not carrying a water filter to collect water from mountain streams, not wearing a sun hat or maybe just not doing enough training for a brutal event of this nature.
For those who have worked with me know that I am a meticulous planner, I conduct extensive research, assess the risks carefully, put in place detailed plans to deal with each of these risks and then execute these plans with professionalism. My consistency in training and preparation paid off during this race and allowed me to successfully finish. It is these characteristics that the clients of SRC benefit from.
Taking Personal Responsibility and being accountable for our choices and behaviours is not always easy (and not always achievable), but it is worth it. We will see the following benefits:
🙂 Increased self-esteem: we are in control of your own destiny.
🙂 Improved relationships: we build trust and respect with others.
🙂 Reduced stress: when we blame others for our problems, we give up control of our life.
🙂 Increased happiness: we are able to achieve our goals and feel good about ourselves.
In a business context, here are some examples of how we can take Personal Responsibility, which will likely lead to being more successful and earn the respect of our colleagues:
🤝 Be honest and transparent with our customers.
🤝 Deliver on our promises.
🤝 Be responsive to customer feedback.
🤝 Be willing to learn and grow.
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