Shawnee Love   •   September 19, 2019

I am very concerned about a philosophy that seems to be an epidemic in our workforce today.

The “Somebody Should Do Something” school of thought.

“The light is burnt out.  Somebody should change it.”

“The railing is loose. Somebody should tighten it.”

“The system is broken. Somebody should fix it.”

“I hate my job. Somebody should give me a new one.”

“I don’t like my boss. Somebody should teach him how to be a good boss.”

“My coworker is mean. Somebody should give her what for.”

In reality, the somebody being waited for is YOU!

Own your own stuff.  Take responsibility for the decisions you have made because it is those decisions which led to where you are with that burnt bulb, loose railing, irritating job, bad boss, mean colleague, etc.  Don’t wait. You have the choice in every moment to do something about it or not. If you abdicate responsibility and leave the situation how it is, know that your lack of action got you to where you are.

Managers, this is your call to action:

One of the greatest gifts you can give employees is teach them that they are accountable for their careers, lives, decisions, etc. No one else is going to care or benefit as much as the individual who takes responsibility for him or herself. The earlier you can teach that to your new hires, the better. 

I see too many people who never recognized they had choice until it is too late, and in my opinion, regrets over things not done are way worse than learning from the mistakes you made. They lead to resentment and worse, unrealized potential.