Responsibility

We assume responsibility in everything we do. Assuming responsibility means that we have a sense of ownership, are committed, and can be held accountable.

To have a sense of ownership, we need to know exactly what we are signing up for and what we are supposed to do. We try to define our area of ownership unambiguously so that we can communicate this to others to avoid misunderstandings and have clarity for ourselves. But ownership means more than knowing the boundaries of your work. It means that we drive that work to completion and take pride in the work. It means that we understand that this work is a reflection of ourselves and that we happily sign our name under it with a sense of satisfaction.

A lot of the decisions we make are highly ambiguous. While we do our best to consider all the evidence and explain the decision outcome, there will be situations where we disagree with a particular decision or feel like we haven’t considered it enough. However, when it comes time to do the work, we put those lingering doubts aside and commit to the work. That doesn’t mean we are going to ignore those concerns or nuances. We will revisit them later when we have more information. But when it comes time to roll up our sleeves and produce a solution, we are committed to making that happen. We believe in the solution as the best option for the time being and do our best to turn it into reality. If we are not committed, we won’t be able to turn in our best work. We may inadvertently sabotage the work through our attitude and impacting the motivation of others. That’s not good for ourselves and unfair to others. If you cannot let go of your doubts, write them down, so we can revisit them later. If you still find it hard to commit, let your coach know so you can work on something else.

Commitment requires that you are either part of a team executing a piece of work or you are not. There is no in between. Providing unsolicited advice to a team you are not part of or putting out an opinion on something you are not committed to does not add value.

With responsibility and ownership comes autonomy. We don’t micromanage at DataSQRL. If you assume responsibility, you get to decide how you want to execute within the existing structures and processes. You own it, you get to do it.

Accountability means that you clearly define what you are going to do and let yourself be held accountable as to whether you accomplished those things. Accountability is critical to personal growth and team morale. Without accountability you don’t have a signal by which you can judge your performance. Without such a signal it is hard to learn and grow.

Nothing destroys team morale quicker than a sense that some people are freeriding on the rest of the team. Accountability means that we recognize the importance of pulling our weight. We hold ourselves accountable to our own standard and to others. If we make a commitment to others, we follow through on that commitment. If somebody does not follow through on their commitment, we hold them accountable.

Accountability may sound threatening because the concept is often tied to bonuses or job security and poorly implemented. We are not gamifying accountability. We are creating a culture of performance and are using accountability to grow each other into stronger performers. Holding someone accountable is not a big deal. We all default on our commitments from time to time. In a culture of accountability we understand how this impacts others and the company at large and strive to do better.

Specifically, it is okay to fail at DataSQRL. In fact, you cannot learn without the risk of failure. We embrace the chance of failure for that reason and support each other to make failure less painful. Of course, failing a lot is demoralizing. In that case, we will have a frank conversation about your role and responsibilities so we can adjust them and make you feel more accomplished in your work. That’s not a big deal either. Yes, it’s an ego bruise but it sets the foundation for future growth and success. For this reason, we don’t tie our sense of self-worth to titles or compensation. Those are incentives.

Responsibility stands in tradeoff with doing a great many things at once, creating an overwhelming sense of urgency, or defining work unclearly to save time. In general, emphasizing responsibility means that we choose to only work on a few things so we can fully commit to and own them. It means that we spend extra time defining our work and what we are going to do. To promote a culture of responsibility we try to use the tool of urgency sparingly. That means we try to use “fire drills” and “crunch mode” sparingly where an overwhelming sense of urgency becomes the defining characteristic that drives all work. A panicked urgency usually stands in conflict with responsibility.