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Responsibility: Follow-Through



People exceptionally talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty.
Clifton StrengthsFinder

People with high Responsibility have a strong sense of ownership over the tasks that are given to them. If some duty is assigned to them, the will 100% follow-through with it. As a result, these individuals are seen as very dependable and trustworthy. They will do everything in their power to bring a task or project to completion. If they are not the ones to see it through the end, they check in with the person who is going to finish it to ensure it comes to completion. Therefore, people will naturally look to these individuals when they have things to delegate, because they know those with Responsibility will finish what they start.

The internal motivation for this follow through is not to complete projects, like it is for someone with Achiever, but rather, it is because their word, rapport, and often relationships are tied to following through. Gallup explains this in the long definition of Responsibility, writing, “If for some reasons you cannot deliver, you automatically start to look for ways to make it up to that person. Apologizes are not enough. Excuses and rationalizations are totally unacceptable. You will not quite be able to live with yourself until you have made restitution.” This expanded definition may seem harsh or even borderline obsessive, but in reality, these feelings comes from a place of strong ethics and morals. Although all strengths can slip into a negative basement, those high in Responsibility, at their core, and driven by the desire to fulfill their promises, because of their irrefutable ethical foundation.

17.6% of TeamMates mentees and 38.31% of TeamMates mentors have Responsibility in their Top 5. If you are a mentor with Responsibility in your Top 5, you likely do not miss match meetings regularly but if you do, you ensure you make up for it. You take it upon yourself to guarantee your mentee has access to all the resources available through TeamMates, like college preparation information and scholarships. In new mentor training, we use the term “promise keeper” to describe our mentors. Mentors keep their promises, they follow-through on what they say they will do and when they say they will be there. As a mentor with high Responsibility, this is naturally how you live your life. It would not make sense to you to do otherwise. However, we also know that those with Responsibility like to take on more than they might be able to handle in a healthy way. Stay encouraged that as a mentor, you have a team of support behind you in your journey; your local building and program coordinators, other mentors, school staff, and TeamMates staff are all here to help you continue to instill hope in a young person’s life.  

-Tess


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