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Accountability in the workplace is about doing what you say you'll do to fulfill the vision and mission of
your organization. When accountability is part of the work culture, the leadership strategy, and each
individual's personal philosophy, it's not an "imposition" on members of an organization. Accountability
isn't about blame or finger-pointing it's about pride in ownership and the opportunity to share in the
company's leadership and success.
This program is designed to help you:
Engage organizational members by providing forums for them to share suggestions, ideas, and
best practices.
Hold people accountable, especially those at the head of departments and work units.
Give individuals and teams the authority to achieve the results they are accountable for.
Ensure that company structures, procedures, and processes facilitate efforts to be accountable and
carry out work assignments and commitments.
The role of leadership in creating an accountable workplace is more about being accountable for
directing, empowering, and facilitating others and less about micromanaging or doing the job
yourself.
Accountability relates to being charged with ensuring that certain outcomes are achieved.
Empowerment comes along with accountability. When people are encouraged to be accountable,
you build empowerment.
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Being accountable means that you want to be part of the solution. You want to accept responsibility for
changing or improving the situation at hand.
In the QuickTalk, Choose Your Attitude, Allison Rimm shares an example of how two different
employees expressed accountability, or lack thereof, through personal choices and attitude and the
way that small acts of accountability can have large impacts on others.
Align and map your values and goals with those of the organization.
When you are personally accountable, you accept responsibility and take action. You see yourself as
part of the solution.
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There are three steps to aligning your values to that of the organization:
List and describe your work preferences. Imagining an ideal job, a job that would be a perfect
fit for you, is one way to explore your work preferences. You may also describe what you like about
your current job. Many kinds of work values motivate people to take work seriously and make a
genuine effort to do a good job. These values include accomplishment, competition, helping
society, creativity, recognition, problem solving, and team work.
List the values practiced by your organization. You can identify these values by what your
company spends time and money on. An investment of time or money is evidence of the values
practiced by an organization.
Map the alignment of personal and organizational values. When you compare a list of your
personal values with a list of the values practiced by your organization, you will find some areas of
alignment, obligation, opportunity, or conflict. You can map the alignment of personal values and
organizational values to help you find how your motivating work values can help you take
accountability for your work results.
The second element of an accountability plan is a set of metrics for measuring success or failure.
A success metric clearly describes the conditions of success from your contribution in terms that
can be observed and then measured.
The third element in your accountability plan is a defined limit to the contribution. If you don't
set clear limits, taking on more responsibilities may encourage supervisors or coworkers to keep
raising their expectations. Clearly describe the last step in the contribution you'll make, or spell out
what's not included in your proposed contribution.
Practicing personal accountability requires careful thought and planning. The three elements of an
accountability plan allow you to choose what you will contribute, how you will measure your success,
and how you will set limits on your contribution to avoid misunderstandings.
If you follow the three steps for presenting an accountability self-assessment correctly, you can tell
your story clearly and exercise some control over the conversation.
Do know how your contributions fit into the big picture. Don't just "do what you are told" without
knowing how your work meets company and customer needs.
Do actively look for ways to make improvements or increase productivity. Don't wait until you are
asked to do so.
Do exercise sound judgment when faced with decisions. Make the right call by considering issues
from the customer perspective, or even the perspective of your team or manager. Don't avoid
making a decision that could benefit your company.
Do correct mistakes even when they are not your fault. Focus on solving the problem. After solving
a problem, identify what went wrong so that similar situations can be avoided. Don't point fingers
at others.
Do be honest when you make a mistake and come prepared with a solution. Don't hide problems
or try to cover them up.
Do work with what you have when you cannot find an immediate solution. Don't use the lack of or
poor resources as an excuse.
Do keep in mind the chain of accountability and how your contributions and mistakes impact
others. Lend a hand to others. Don't take actions that serve only you and/or your part of the
business.
In business today, lack of personal accountability is a serious, ongoing problem. It has resulted in a
culture of blame, complaining, and procrastination. No organization or individual can achieve its goals,
compete in the marketplace, fulfill its vision, or develop people and teams without personal
accountability.
Accountable leaders are responsible for setting and communicating the direction for employee goals.
Having a vision for the future gives a goal meaning. Once established, meeting goals requires followthrough and persistence.
People commit to their own ideas, and naturally resist the ideas of others.
There is power in numbers, so tap into your group's energy, creativity, and collective knowledge.
People will rise to meet your expectations if the expectations are clearly defined.
In the QuickTalk, Using Vulnerability to Increase Mutual Accountability, Peter Fuda illustrates how
awareness of your limitations provides an opportunity to create accountability within the organization,
and the positive outcomes that can result.
Just as your employees are accountable to you, you are accountable to your employees. Be aware of
how you treat your employees, and take action to let them know you respect and support them. Be the
manager your people need, and they will serve you well.
Involve the team in setting goals. Members who participate in creating goals will be more
inclined to view those goals as their own.
Involve the team in diagnosing and solving problems. Participants feel more responsible for
problems that they own as a team.
Validate team members. Leaders validate team members by affirming or complimenting them
on specific actions, attitudes, or ideas that contribute to team goals. This creates a positive feeling
in the team.
Leaders who validate their team in the process of setting goals, diagnosing problems, and working
together on solutions increase the effectiveness of team work and promote a sense accountability and
ownership among its members.
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Brainstorm solutions.
Ask "why" five times to dig down to the root cause of the issue.
If the problem is created by an organizational issue, then remove the obstacles or barriers that are
impeding progress. It's important to understand what, if any, obstacles exist that are not within the
control of the individual or the team.
Summary
Companies need to build a culture of accountability to protect the significant investments made in
people, leaders, teams, and most of all the loyalty of their customers.
The desire for accountability in the workplace has grown alongside the expectations for business
performance. Accountability is essential, especially in today's business environment where people are
working in virtual teams on multiple, fast-moving projects.
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