The Responsibility Process uncovers how people take and avoid responsibility. Looking at it from project context, we discuss how to promote success in projects by supporting the taking of responsibility.

1. Wise Leadership
Understanding personal responsibility as key to more successful
projects
2018-10-19 By Towo Toivola & Siili team
#18 When concentrating on facts, remember that if people
feel a certain way, that is a fact.
#29 Respect is not cheap, but you can not afford disrespect.
#36 In a world where everyone's main goal is the pursuit of
happiness, you can't afford to ignore feelings.
- BRoA.biz

2. Welcome! Here?
Towo Toivola has dedicated his working life for finding ways to work better, smarter, and with higher
quality. He believes that a good end result requires a wise combination of theory and practice using
disciplined flexibility.
A decade in software engineering and another in organizational leadership has provided him a rich
variety of points of view, and works as a fountain for endless true stories to be used as examples.
Scrum, Agile, Kanban, Lean, Deep Leadership and The Responsibility Process are naturally interesting
and valuable, but in the end one always ends up working with humans: ”What do you want?”
The technology business is actually a people business where you get tragicomic results trying to apply
lessons learned in the heavy industries of the past. It is time to understand deeper.
Towo has lead many development teams and been accountable for the tools, methods, and processes of
sizeable product development organizations. He lectures periodically at Aalto University, teaching the
next generation of professionals. Towo is a Recognized Coach in the Leadership Gift Program.

3. 600
employees
60
m€ revenue (2017)
10%
ebitda
Siili Solutions Plc

4. A project.. What is it?
Somebody wants something and
others will try to realize it under some
conditions in a successful way..

5. The key to
success are the
people..and all parties are human.
Humans are the most critical part
of any project, as they can deal
with the other parts.

6. Professionals are human
This is sometimes frustrating for
managers who’d like reliable
industrious robots

7. Responsibility
Topic today: taking of responsibility
and the avoiding of responsibility
This makes all the difference in
project results and people’s lives

8. What is responsibility?
Responsibility (vastuunotto) is not
accountability (vastuuseen
asettaminen)
It is a mental state in a human that
comes and goes depending on
what is being faced

9. “Problem” triggers
The Responsibility
ProcessIt limits our thinking and steers us
away from taking responsibility
This happens to everyone and is
completely natural
Anything go wrong in your projects?
Do people need to face “problems”?

10. Responsibility
Obligation
Shame
Justify
Lay Blame
Denial
Quit
This is
how it
goes..
Have you
seen this
happen?

11. So, what do we as leaders want?
The control prison:
No growth, no learning, no
enthusiasm, no ownership
happens here
Responsibility
Obligation
Shame Quit
Justify
Blame
Denial

12. Key people above the
line as often as
possibleBut how do we do it?
1) Limit and eliminate
phenomena that push people
below the line
2) Create an environment that
supports taking responsibility
and acting from it

13. How to invite people
below the line..
• “Guilt” communication
• Limiting access (information, tools,
systems, decisions)
• Judging persons
• Driving by pressure
• Controlling and watching
• Pushing work at people
What are
these an
invitation to?

14. How to support taking responsibility?
• Set inspiring goals, clearly, and
together
• Show genuine respect
• Inquire genuinely
• Actively remain on the side of
the project staff
• Measure morale and act
• Actively eliminate demotivators
• Foster real autonomy
• Have people plan their own
work
• Pull-based environment
• Invite to conclusions and
agreements
• Manage agreements
• Discourage invitations to below
the line
• Manage conflict impartially

15. And clearly most
important..
Demonstrate with your own example!

16. There are things you can
do to gain clarity and
power..
Awareness
Intention
Confront
..and loads more, but hey,
how will you get started?

17. Study
ApplyAsk
Teach
Scarcity and
generativity
Four quadrants
of lifetime
mastery
Power and control
processes
PROBLEM
ISSUE
CONCERN
CONSIDERATION
HIERARCHY OF ANXIETY
Anxiety
level
Ease of
addressing
Anatomy of a
problem
OUR INTENTION COUNTERINTENTION

18. Thank you
A path forward?