Sotos' Shared Responsibility
- Mar 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 29
Part of Sotos’s Ideas & Opportunities: Spotting Opportunities story arc
The question hadn’t gone away.
Sotos walked a little slower than usual as the group passed The Spark, his eyes flicking between the road, the bins, and and a damaged section of the cobbled street underfoot. Nothing had changed since yesterday - and yet everything felt slightly different.
Who usually deals with problems like this?
Not who was most annoyed.
Not who noticed first.
Just… who dealt with it.
Near the edge of the road, a small hole had opened up between the cobbles. It wasn’t huge, but it was deep enough to make Sotos pause. He leaned forward slightly, peering down at it, then straightened up and noticed the community noticeboard beside the path.
The noticeboard was packed. Flyers overlapped flyers, some glossy and official-looking, others printed at home with curling corners.
Sotos slowed. Then he stopped.
“There’s loads,” Jola said, standing on tiptoes to see properly.
She pointed to one flyer that looked different from the rest. Someone had added extra notes in pen: Meet by the bins. Bring gloves.
“Look,” she said. “Someone’s written extra bits on this one.”
She traced the pen marks with her finger. “They really wanted people to know where to go.”
She glanced back at the hole in the cobbled street.
“That must be for this bit.”
Sotos nodded. He read the board properly now.
“There’s one about reporting problems with the street to the council,” he said. “And another about volunteers. And something from a local club.”
His eyes moved from the flyers back to the hole in the cobbles.
“So if there are already people for things like this,” he said slowly, “who’s actually meant to deal with a problem like this one?”
It wasn’t a challenge.
It was curiosity.
Jola tilted her head. “Maybe more than one?”
Kit hadn’t stopped walking. One earbud was still in, his tablet tucked under his arm.
“That’s easy,” he said, glancing back. “If it’s a council thing, you report it and they deal with it.”
“Eventually,” Jola muttered.
Kit shrugged. “That’s how it works. Stuff like roads and public spaces - it’s literally their job.”
Sotos felt the pull of that answer. It was tidy. Comfortable. One problem, one place to send it.
Done.
But his gaze drifted back to the noticeboard.
“What if people are affected before anything happens?” he asked.
Kit didn’t hesitate. “Then it still doesn’t make it our problem.”
Sotos didn't reply. He wasn’t convinced - but, he also wasn’t rushing to argue back.
They carried on walking.
Near the park entrance, a small sign was fixed to a post: Report issues online or by phone. Clear. Official.
“Okay,” Sotos said quietly. “That’s one role.”
A little further along, he noticed a couple of older teens stacking litter grabbers back into a plastic box. A label on the side read: Friends of the Commons.
“They’re not council,” Jola said. “They’re just… people.”
“But they’re helping,” Sotos replied.
Outside The Spark, a staff member taped up a flyer on the door:
Youth night - help set up chairs at 5:30.*
Kit glanced at it. “That’s not the same thing.”
“It’s still a role,” Archie said calmly.
Sotos slowed again.
Council.
Volunteers.
Clubs.
Different roles. Different jobs.
“My school’s got playground helpers,” Jola added. “And an eco club. They don’t fix everything - they just do bits.”
Something settled in Sotos’s mind. Not an idea. Not a plan.
More like a clearer picture.
“So it’s not one person,” he said. “It’s lots of people doing different parts.”
They stopped near a planter by the path.
“When you see a problem,” Archie asked, “what’s the difference between caring about it and being in charge of it?”
Sotos opened his mouth - then closed it again.
He realised he’d been treating those two things as the same.
Nearby, Rudy appeared, as quiet as ever. He stopped beside the planter and looked around: the noticeboard, the path, the people passing by.
Then he sat down, folding his hands, as if he was waiting for something important - without rushing it.
“You don’t have to run the whole thing,” Archie said. “Sometimes you just join what’s already there.”
Sotos felt his shoulders drop, just a little.
“I think I get it,” Sotos said. “Caring doesn’t mean fixing. And fixing doesn’t belong to one person.”
Kit folded his arms. “Still think if it matters, it’ll get sorted.”
“Maybe,” Jola said. “But it still takes people actually turning up and doing things.”
No one moved to do anything.
No plans were made.
No decisions were taken.
And that felt right.
As they walked on, Sotos glanced back once more at the noticeboard - then at the cracked edge of the path.
The question that came this time was smaller. Quieter.
“What’s a small way I could contribute - without taking over?”
Previously: Sotos’ Perspective Shift
Key Takeaways
Problems usually sit inside systems, like councils, schools, clubs, or volunteer groups
Different people and groups have different roles - no one person does everything
Caring about a problem doesn’t mean you’re responsible for fixing it on your own
You can create value by supporting, joining, or helping in small ways, rather than leading or taking control
Reflection
Think about a problem you’ve noticed recently - at school, in your neighbourhood, or at a club.
Who might already be involved in dealing with it?
What roles or groups exist around that problem?
What’s one question you could ask to understand where you might help - without taking over?
You don’t need to fix everything to make a difference.
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