RESPONSE ABILITY

The Leadership Grit That Turns Breakdowns Into Bold Moves

3-Minute Read

Responsibility gets a bad rap. It’s been tangled up with guilt, blame, and fault for so long that most high performers flinch at the word. But what if instead of fault, responsibility is about freedom? What if it’s the most powerful thing you can choose?

A Harvard Business Review study recently found that leaders who consistently model ownership (not control) for results increase team trust, innovation, and resilience by over 40%. Why? Because true responsibility generates momentum. It doesn’t shrink your power—it activates it.

I’ve watched high-performing clients transform their relationships, businesses, and leadership the moment they stopped waiting for others to do better—and got responsible for creating outcomes they cared about, even when they weren’t “at fault.”

If you’re tired of feeling stuck, reactive, or drained by what others did (or didn’t do), this week’s issue of The Grip is your compass back to creative power.

Let’s dive in!

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responsibility vs. blame & fault

Most leaders misunderstand responsibility. They avoid it, because they think it means carrying the blame—or worse, being the one at fault. But blame and fault are static. Responsibility is generative.

As I wrote in my book, Intentional: “Responsibility is literally the ability to respond. It is power and freedom to create in every circumstance. Always.”

Let that land: You don’t have to be at fault to be responsible. You just have to see you can create something different.

Ask yourself:
Do I ever take responsibility for messes I didn’t create? Or do I avoid responsibility because it feels like blame?

Distinguishing responsibility from blame is one of the most liberating moves a leader can make. Here's how to tell the difference:

🔥 5 Characteristics of Responsibility

Empowering, creative, and agency-restoring

1. Ownership
   → “I am the source of my outcomes—even if I didn’t cause the circumstances.”
   This is ownership. It doesn’t mean you're to blame. It means you care enough to create what happens next.

2. Freedom-Focused
   → Responsibility creates options.
   It expands your field of choice rather than narrowing it. You act from clarity, not compulsion. Responsibility moves your life forward.

3. Emotionally Clean
   → No shame. No guilt. Just clarity and choice.
   You don’t need to punish yourself or others to take action. You simply choose to act.

4. Future-Oriented
   → “What do I choose now?”
   Responsibility focuses on creating what’s next rather than obsessing over what went wrong. It’s momentum, not rumination.

5. Clear Boundaries
   → “I’m not responsible for everything; I am responsible for what matters to me.”
   You get to decide what matters to you, act in alignment with the outcomes you desire, and say “no” to others’ priorities that are not also your own.

⚠️ 5 Characteristics of Blame & Fault

Disempowering, reactive, and ego-protective

1. Victim or Villain Framing
   → Either you made the mess, or you’re suffering from someone else’s.
   Neither role gives you power to change it.

2. Shame-Based Accountability
   → “You did this, therefore you are bad.”
   It collapses behavior and identity—keeping people frozen or defensive.

3. Past-Focused & Stagnant
   → Keeps you fixated on who’s at fault and what should’ve happened, rather than seeing what’s possible now.

4. Energy-Sucking
   → Emotional bandwidth gets consumed, but nothing changes. You stay stuck, waiting for someone else to fix it.

5. Binary Thinking
   → Someone must be right, someone must be wrong. That lens keeps you from connecting, collaborating, or creating.

Every place you give up responsibility you give up power to deal effectively with life. Every place you take on responsibility, you gain power to deal effectively with life.

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This week, consider and act on the following questions:

• What do I notice about being responsible when blame is no longer part of it?

• Where at work or home have I been avoiding responsibility because it feels like blame?

• What outcomes matter to me—enough that I’m willing to own them, regardless of who “caused” them?

• What becomes possible when I choose to respond instead of react?

• What would radically change if I became fully responsible for the outcomes of the team and mission I’m leading?

“Responsibility is literally the ability to respond. It is power and freedom to create in every circumstance. Always.”

— Intentional

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Responsibility isn’t about guilt. It’s about creation. It’s the choice to become the source of what you care about—even in the presence of mess, unfairness, or challenge.

You can either be a victim or be responsible. When you stop blaming and start architecting the outcomes you desire, you become unstoppable.

Will you be responsible for your desired outcomes in your business, relationships, and health? Put responsibility to the test and watch your life transform.

Keep creating!

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key takeaways

1. What is responsibility in leadership?

   Responsibility is the ability to own outcomes without guilt or blame, focusing on creating what’s next.

2. How does blame affect leadership performance?

   Blame keeps leaders stuck in the past, draining emotional energy and stalling innovation and momentum.

3. What changes when leaders shift from blame to ownership?

   Leaders gain clarity, power, and freedom, unlocking creativity and driving impactful results in business, relationships, and health.

May you prosper in every way!

Becky & TPL Team

52 Maxims of Conscious Choosing To Create the Deeply Satisfying Life You Desire.