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Conversations in Management

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility.

Stanton made this remark during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 1892. The speech was the capstone of a career that began with the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, forty years earlier. There, she boldly read the Declaration of Sentiments declaring equal rights for women. She modeled the document on the Declaration of Independence and in it made a strong case for female suffrage. The Seneca Falls convention was a turning point for Stanton. Already an active abolitionist, she saw many parallels between the status of women—particularly married women—and the victims of slavery. The extreme limits on a woman’s rights, or self-sovereignty, radicalized her views and led her to seek far more than simple voting rights. She ardently spoke out in favor of a woman’s full rights regarding property, income, employment and child custody. Even more polarizing she spoke out in favor of liberalized divorce laws and the right of women to use birth control or, as she called it, voluntary motherhood.

Then, as today, contentious social and political issues generated a good deal of discussion, argument and angst. Then, as today, that’s about the full extent of most folk’s involvement in the issues. But Stanton was different. She saw inequities and took responsibility for doing something about it. She started by organizing the Seneca Falls convention and traveling locally to speak out in favor of women’s rights. As the movement gained momentum, she became one of the first to balance home and career. Choosing to remain at home with her young children; she none-the-less stayed active by publishing numerous articles and writing speeches for Susan B. Anthony. After her children were grown, she assumed key leadership roles in the National Woman’s Suffrage Association, the International Council of Women and the National American Woman Suffrage Association. In 1868 she joined the Lyceum Circuit, where for the next twelve years she would travel the country giving speeches such as, “Our Girls,” “Our Boys,” “Marriage and Divorce,” and “The Bible and Women’s Rights.” Underpinning all her activities was a bedrock belief in the common rights of everyone. She believed that with equal rights came responsibility—the responsibility to make your way in the world on the basis of your own merit.

Assuming responsibility is a mark of character. It’s an indication that you’re willing to think through a situation and come to a decision about it. It also means you’re willing to stand by your decision and accept the consequences that follow—good or bad. Yet even a negative consequence isn’t too hard on someone willing to accept responsibility for their actions. When things go wrong, they acknowledge it as a part of life, figure what to do better the next time and then move on. They have confidence in themselves, in their ability to recover and in their ultimate ability to succeed. We all know what the alternative looks like. Those unwilling to accept responsibility for themselves tend to whine, blame, complain and act helpless when faced with even minor difficulties. They have an overwhelming and unattractive need to be rescued—from life and from themselves. If you’re in any kind of leadership role, a key responsibility is helping your folks assume responsibility. You may have to coach, encourage and perhaps even cajole them, but everyone will benefit. Try it out. Promote responsibility. Who knows, you might even start a movement.

—Ebert