WHAT IF Responsibility MEANT Impact AND Freedom?

In our daily lives, being responsible is often seen as a burden or a price to pay for a mistake. “You’re responsible for this mess.” “It’s our responsibility to take care of the planet.” “This isn’t my responsibility—it’s yours.” Who hasn’t felt stressed, angry, or even powerless when hearing statements like these?

Is having to be responsible really that troublesome? Is there an alternative to either suffering from or ignoring our sense of responsibility? 

FINDING MEANING 

“Where does our responsibility begin and end?” 

Originally, the concept of responsibility had a positive connotation. In Latin, “respondere” means “to answer to, to promise in return.” Essentially, it refers to the ability to hold oneself accountable.What should we be accountable for?

• Should we still be held responsible if the requests we receive are unrealistic? When your boss asks you to do something that’s impossible given the resources at your disposal, should you try to turn that impossibility into a possibility?

• Is it a person’s responsibility to deal with the consequences of others’ irresponsibility? For example, should Greta, a 15-year-old girl, be responsible for tackling the climate crisis caused by previous generations?

The growing awareness of our human responsibility for climate change and epidemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates a shift in people’s perception of their sense of responsibility. Whereas pre-industrial societies believed that natural disasters were caused by forces beyond human control, modern society holds a different view.

While it is important to face reality, placing the burden of changing human behavior on individuals may be too overwhelming. Rather than empowering us, our reptilian brain tends to trigger our “fight-or-flight” response when faced with such a monumental task. Could we view our responsibilities as a catalyst for expressing our humanity and creativity?

FreeDOM to Determine Our Responsibility

We are neither all-powerful nor powerless. If we cannot change the many circumstances of our world, we can change our perception of it by tapping into our superpower called consciousness.

If we are mindful of how we view a situation— —we have the power to decide what we want to do about it. In doing so, we reclaim ownership of our responsibility.

As Victor Hugo said, “Everything that increases freedom also increases responsibility.” Yes, it is scarier to be accountable for our choices. But isn’t it also exciting to realize that we have the power to influence our environment and control its impact on our lives?

What impact do you want to make? 

When faced with a situation, thinking about the reality you want to shape (rather than the effects or causes of that situation) may help you change your mindset regarding the concept of responsibility. 

Let’s step away from your rational mind for a moment. Let’s imagine you’re diving in the Indian Ocean. You’re enjoying being immersed in another world and surrounded by nature. You feel at peace… until you see a plastic bag on a coral reef. 

Here, you have a few options:

• You might think: “What a shame! Nature is being destroyed! People are irresponsible!” You probably feel pretty angry, ashamed, or depressed.

  • You may decide to do nothing because you have nowhere to put this bag, and there are so many other tragedies at sea that it’s pointless to take this single action.

  • Alternatively, you might get furious, pick it up, and spend the rest of your dive seething with rage at human society. 

• Another way to look at it might be: “This is unfortunate and terrible for nature. We need to change the way we produce and consume on land. In the meantime, since I saw it, I can pick it up even though it’s not convenient. At least it will be one less threat to the fish.” Proud of your sense of responsibility, you enjoy the rest of your diving experience. 

Some will say that this reframing of the situation is a form of brainwashing by positive psychology. Others will think that we won’t save the planet by focusing on an individual’s small actions. Still others may simply wonder what the “right” attitude is to have in this situation. 

Honestly, this question is too complex to have a single, simple answer. It’s up to you to decide what you want to think and do in a given situation. Your impact depends on YOUR CHOICE. 

Updating your change

A SIMPLE TOOL 

When you're faced with an obstacle, a fear, or rejection, why not take a step back and ask yourself:

• What are the facts?

• What thoughts are causing me to feel a negative emotion?

• What do I want to be like instead?

• How can I act in a way that makes me feel the way I want to feel? 

Here is an example: 

• Facts: A business leader explains, “Sustainability is, at best, the icing on the cake—something to be addressed only once everything else has been taken care of and if time and resources permit.”

• Thoughts & emotions: “This is so wrong. With this kind of thinking, our world will come to an end pretty soon. I can’t work with people like that. I feel hopeless, exasperated, and drained.”

• Ideal me: responding with empathy, trying to understand the person’s true needs and finding smart ways to demonstrate the added value of sustainability 

• Aligned action (among many others): “Do you feel overwhelmed and under pressure from all the business development and cost-saving targets you’re facing?” If so, “How about discussing your challenges and seeing if we can come up with some sustainable solutions?” 

A MANTRA TO ACCOMPANY YOU 

“‘Ifyou own this story, you get to write the ending .’”

— Brené Brown

Now, back to YOU! How do you want to take charge of your story today?

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Feel free to share how this article resonates with you—I’d love to hear from you. Also, if you’d like help finding (or refining) your purpose and increasing your impact on society and the planet through your professional activities, feel free to contact me using this form (English / French)

A Real-Life Lesson: From Struggle to Impact

FROM feeling useless 

Three years ago, I was exhausted. Every day I would rush from one person to another, trying to meet one person’s expectations after another. I was desperately trying to make a positive impact on the company, society, and the environment, but I didn’t always see the connection between my day-to-day efforts and my mission. I felt overwhelmed and useless. 

I was eager to make a difference without really knowing how to go about it. The challenges facing our planet and society are so immense and complex. I thought I lacked the skills and credibility to turn my ideas into effective action. I felt like a little mouse in an endless tunnel, surrounded by too much turmoil and danger.

This situation was gradually eroding my self-confidence and affecting other areas of my life. Everything was falling apart, and I knew that if I didn't change, I'd lose it all.

via INNER TRANSFORMATION 

So I started to take a step back and refocused my attention. I took time to strengthen my connections with the people I cared about and made cultural and intellectual discoveries. I established a routine to nourish my mind, body, and spirit.

I (finally) accepted that the pursuit of perfection is an illusion. Change Management and Sustainability are such vast, fundamental, urgent, complex, ever-evolving, and crucial topics these days that it’s easy to lose oneself while trying to make meaningful contributions—and easy to feel like an imposter.

On a personal level, I decided that if I can’t win the battle against plastic packaging in Japan, I could reduce my impact by using my own bottle and grocery bag, making my own toothpaste and laundry detergent, using a bioplastic toothbrush, and so on. 

At work, I strengthened the connection between my purpose and my actions. I explored my personal and professional journey, how those experiences shaped me, and why they influenced my behavior. I defined my dreams and hopes, as well as the values and talents needed to achieve them. I am now confident that—if pushing ourselves is essential for growth—we can leverage our unique strengths, experiences, and passions rather than fixating on our weaknesses. This is why I began to believe in my creativity, my vision, and my leadership to achieve what I am striving for. 

TOWARDS IMPACT 

Now, I am happily leading a multicultural team of changemakers. Together , we act as catalysts for change. We strive to disrupt the business in a way that benefits both society and the planet.

We have worked to fully embrace our company’s purpose and to clarify our department’s mission in that regard. Most importantly, as we assessed our department’s mission, we evaluated how well it aligned with our individual purposes, and how that alignment would help us use our innate talents to maximize our contribution. The recipe for success? Build a collective strategy that brings all those elements together in an interconnected and meaningful way.

Spoiler alert. I’m not saying that our vision is set in stone, that our impact is a given, or that everything runs smoothly. We know that achieving this ambition is an ongoing process that requires commitment and the collective effort of every stakeholder. What’s different now is that we have complete clarity on what we’re aiming for, how we want to work, and how we’ll engage people to make our shared purpose a reality.

One way to act as a catalyst for change was to organize creative business workshops. One way to act as a catalyst for change is to organize creative business workshops. Every year, we bring together people from across Asia and diverse backgrounds to work on a single operational project. We take the time to learn from business units’ approaches to sustainable development, as well as new corporate tools and insights. Most importantly, we spend time gaining insight into the day-to-day lives of site operators and help them overcome their specific challenges through collective brainstorming. Throughout the year, our sustainability team then follows up with the site to implement the plans that emerged from these broad, innovative, and in-depth exchanges. In doing so, we have supported some sites in expanding a wetland, building an educational center, or even rethinking their carbon footprint analysis.

TIME TO SAVE YOUR ENERGY 

Being aligned with our higher purpose helps us make a positive impact and inspire others to act in ways that reflect their own approaches and capabilities.

That is why I have made it my mission to support aspiring changemakers— who work in organizations just like mine—to strive for meaningful impact. By doing so, they feel true to themselves and useful to the society and/or the environment in which they live. I empower them by sharing my experience, strategy planning tools, deep inner work, coaching, and visualization techniques.

• If you're curious and interested in this kind of support, feel free to reach out! 

• If you find all this information compelling but aren't yet sure what specific steps to take, sign up for the newsletter to receive new articles that will hopefully help you refine your ideas!

Meanwhile, in case you're wondering:

• Your PURPOSE is the reason you wake up every day. It is the driving force and magical inner power that motivates you to achieve things in life. When you explore your deep purpose, you answer questions such as WHO, WHY, and FOR WHOM.

• IMPACT refers to the force with which one thing influences another. An impactful action has a significant or major effect—whether positive or negative—on an audience or a project. It addresses the WHAT, HOW, and WHEN of a plan. 

• AIMING for an impact that is meaningful to you is the key to a fulfilling success.

To wrap up, let me ask you: 

• Before reading this, why do you wake up in the morning? 

• And now, why do you want to wake up in the morning? ;)

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Feel free to share how this article resonates with you—I’d love to hear from you. Also, if you’d like help finding (or refining) your purpose and increasing your impact on society and the planet through your professional activities, feel free to contact me using this form (English / French)