Etymologically, the word “responsibility” comes from the Latin ‘responsum’, which is a form of ‘being considered subject to a debt or obligation’. Originating in English constitutional law, it is in the legal field where this term and its consequences are most commonly used.

A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.

Bob Dylan

However, responsibility has other less onerous meanings and more beneficial effects. Although in Philosophy they differ about the term and whether it is an individual virtue (Kant) or a social one (Hans Jonas), in nergroup it is clear for us that it is closely linked to individual freedom and to the commitment acquired by and with people; it is precisely responsibility which is that virtue that pushes us to respond to them.

Responsibility also motivates us in those moments when the purpose is not so clear in our mind, or reminds us of the commitments freely made. In the New Style of Relationships, values such as freedom and trust are complemented by the responsibility of all the members of each team, which makes self-management viable, growing an organization where everyone fights for a common goal, defined with shared freedom.

Feeling part of the same purpose, of its decision making, and facing a shared responsibility is even lighter when we look around and find people who, like us, have also freely acquired these same commitments for the common good that unites us.