Self-charter: Necessary Roles

This is Section Three of a five-part series on Self-Charters, an exercise in self-management and personal accountability. In this series, I explore how to design a charter that helps clarify values and establish a framework for guiding one's actions. Click here to start from the beginning. Keep reading to learn more about defining your self-charter's necessary roles.

What are and are not my responsibilities? As one person, what roles can I embody to support me in stewarding my duties?

Answering these questions is the key to defining your self-charter's necessary roles.

Like norms, this section typically reveals where an individual might serve others to their detriment despite their good intentions. When building team charters, the necessary roles workshop almost always inspires someone to speak up and remind the team that they are often the one taking notes. It's also the place where someone else might mention the unique pain they experience while silently filling the gaps left by a lack of headcount on another team.

When a team defines necessary roles, it forces the group to look at the collective scope of their work and get real about what they can and cannot sustainably cover. Defining necessary roles as an individual empowers you to do the same. In this section of the self-charter, you'll outline the scope of your life and clarify the roles where you must excel if you want to cover the most important portion of that scope.

Defining my scope

Roles and responsibilities are eternally connected so to start, let's dive a bit deeper into responsibility itself to ensure the necessary roles are well-placed.

How do I define responsibility?

If it goes right, I get the credit.
If it goes wrong, I get the blame.
Of all the people with the power to influence it, I have the most.
It's my duty to ensure its desired outcomes are achieved.

What are my responsibilities? (What's in scope?)

To embody my core values
To stick to my norms
My health
My success
My happiness
How I process
How I respond

What are not my responsibilities? (What's out of scope?)

How other people perceive my truest self
To re-prove what I've already proven (to the same audience)
To shoulder an emergency that resulted from a lack of planning on someone else's part
The happiness of others
How others process
How others respond

Defining my roles

If the scope of my life is equal to my list of responsibilities, then there are three roles I must embody to sustainably cover what's in scope.

Role 1: The Cheerleader

The Cheerleader shows up when I need to gas myself up. She shows up naturally after a win but it's important to call on her after a loss. When I'm down, she reminds me who I am and that I have the strength to get back up.

Role 2: The Challenger

The Challenger shows up when distance appears between myself and my responsibilities. She appears when I might be playing it too safe or falling into old habits. She reminds me of what I've committed to and pushes me to do the right thing even when it's not the easy thing.

Role 3: The Mediator

The Mediator is the role I embody the majority of the time. She maintains my habit of connecting to the present moment rather than giving all my energy to a familiar past or certain future. She also shows up when the Cheerleader and The Challenger are at odds and drives me toward a balanced conclusion. It's important to call on the mediator when I feel myself giving too much power to one of the roles above.

Moving forward

When you define the necessary roles for your self-charter, you take a crucial step toward managing your responsibilities with intention and clarity. By outlining what's in and out of scope and recognizing the roles you need to embody, you create a framework that helps you navigate the demands of your life without overextending yourself. This process empowers you to approach your duties with balance, ensuring you're fully equipped to sustain the responsibilities that truly matter while letting go of those that aren't yours to carry.

Coming Soon: Self-charter: Success measures