Accountability:
Who’s Really Responsible?
During the last year, I have been asked on numerous occasions
to lead training seminars about accountability. To the surprise
of my clients, I declined each time. Not because I think accountability
is unimportant. Quite the contrary is true. I turned down
these projects because I don’t believe you can train people
to be accountable. Accountability is learned through your
environment – either at home or at work.
Following are five ways managers can create an environment
that encourages accountability. Master them and you’ll be
amazed at the results.
- Stop blaming – Many organizations say that they
want accountability, but they actually create a culture
that produces the opposite reaction. If for example you
want your employees to solve problems but get angry and
lay blame when something goes wrong, few will dare to take
responsibility for anything.
If something goes wrong, don’t place blame. Simply point
out your expectations as well as what you observed. Then
allow the employee to explain and focus on solving the problem.
Finally establish a process for identifying and correcting
errors before they become problems. If you are a manager,
you have a responsibility to make sure your employees do
not also blame each other.
- Learn from mistakes – The real secret to fostering
accountability is to hold employees responsible for solving
their own problems and learning from their mistakes. Few
companies know this better than 3M Corporation. In fact,
3M built a reputation for innovative products by practicing
this very technique. Granted 3M doesn’t celebrate mistakes,
but the company’s managers don’t blame or punish either.
They expect their employees to learn from mistakes and empower
them to solve problems. This creates an environment that
encourages creativity and risk taking. Think of that the
next time you jot something down on a Post-it® note.
- Set clear roles and responsibilities – This sounds
simple and obvious, yet in practice the expectations of
management are rarely understood fully by employees at large.
Sure most companies have goals, and occasionally they cascade
those goals through the organization in a direct way, but
rarely are day-to-day responsibilities spelled out clearly.
Once you’ve outlined those responsibilities, give employees
the authority to achieve results. For instance, if
an employee is the lead on a project team but is also required
to check in with his or her manager when tough decisions
need to be made, who is responsible when something goes
wrong? The employee or the manager? Let your employees know
what kinds of decisions they can make on their own and which
ones you will make. Whoever makes the decision is accountable.
- Make sure goals are challenging but not impossible
– Some organizations face competition that is so fierce
that it often seems that survival depends upon accomplishing
the impossible. However, truly impossible goals never motivate.
If you and your team face a particularly lofty goal, acknowledge
that fact. But also ask the rest of the team for ideas about
how the goal can be met. Encourage them to think outside
the box. Is there a way? If so, go for it. If not, the goal
is truly unattainable and should be replaced with something
that positions the company and its individual employees
for success.
- Instill pride – People enjoy accountability when
they feel they are given a chance to succeed. If support
and resources are given, studies have shown motivated employees
can achieve nearly impossible tasks. A recent Fast Company
article, quotes Jon R. Katzenbach, author of Why Pride
Matters More Than Money: The Power of the World’s Greatest
Motivational Force as saying “People who are emotionally
committed to something . . . behave in ways that defy logic
and often produce results that are well beyond expectations.
They pursue impossible dreams, work ridiculous hours and
resolve unsolvable problems.”
People who feel pride and support for a project will welcome
accountability, which in turn will fulfill a basic human
need – to accomplish something we are proud of. If
support and resources are lacking, we may feel like we’re
being set up for failure. No one wants to be accountable
for that.
While most managers in today’s lean organizations must complete
tasks as well as manage, the true job of the manager is to
give clear roles and responsibilities, help employees learn
and grow, give positive and constructive feedback, remove
obstacles, support the employees and get out of the way. When
managers provide support and remove obstacles, employee accountability
comes naturally.
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