Clear, unambiguous responsibilities

The more I think about high performing individuals - and high performing teams - it keeps coming back to clear, unambiguous responsibilities.

Pick a performance topic. How about accountability?

Accountability is rightfully discussed as an attribute for a strong culture. Accountability flows from my willingness to own the outcome of my efforts. I can’t get away with blaming others if things go wrong. That starts with a clear, unambiguous responsibility. 

Or, trust. Trust is a key trait for organizational success. We trust one another to contribute in an ethical and meaningful way. We trust that our efforts will be recognized and rewarded. Trust relies on transparency and boundaries. That can only exist with clear, unambiguous responsibilities.

Regardless of the characteristic or trait of high performance, responsibilities continually show up as the foundation for all other performance topics. And that’s not just a simple, academic observation. It’s the basis for designing a real-world performance environment. 

We own responsibilities. We’re accountable for delivering on our responsibilities. We create strategies to support our responsibilities. We monitor our progress toward delivering on our responsibilities. And so on. 

Contrast this with a ‘task’ mindset.  

We view tasks as something we complete, not own. Often, tasks come with instructions - ‘prepare a report using this template’. Whether it provides meaningful information when it’s complete is irrelevant to me. Tasks are focused on accountability for execution, not accountability for outcomes. 

And that’s why tasks are a poor substitute for clear, unambiguous responsibilities. 

So what makes a responsibility clear and unambiguous? And how do responsibilities actually create alignment, accountability, transparency, trust, and engagement? The answers drive high performance. Once you see the full picture, performance starts to look different. More simple. More practical. More complete. And more sustainable.   

Responsibilities are the practical foundation that sets everything in motion.

That's what TRM is built around. 

There’s another level to this game. TRM is for people who already sense that.