As a professional, regardless of the industry, a trait that is directly related to success is accountability. Without a sense of accountability, a professional’s career will often times be put into jeopardy. Why would any executive or manager consider hiring an employee who is incapable of accepting responsibility or admitting to their own mistakes? Likewise, how can any professional organization find long term success without an accountable set of executives and managers? Accountability is a trait that impacts every facet of an organization, which is why it’s so important. This post will detail the ways in which accountability influences both employees and organizations at the professional level.
As mentioned previously, despite the importance of accountability in employees, managers must also be capable of bringing this trait out of their employees. Of course, it’s great if their employees are naturally accountable, but that won’t often be the case. Despite understanding the importance of accountability in their employees, many managers fail to ever make an impact on their employees. Nearly 80% of managers will fail to hold their staff accountable in any meaningful way. The employees of these types of managers will also report that the organization must be responsible for finding more helpful ways to assist employees in this regard. Ineffective managers can result in ineffective employees.
It’s important to understand that regardless of how simple it may seem, fostering a company culture predicated on accountability is no easy task. Managers struggle, employees struggle, but executives must do their best to set these expectations from the top. Leading by example is important, in fact it can make all the difference if higher level executives set forth the right example. When these executives display the fact that they’re comfortable with taking blame and communicating their issues in hopes that other employees avoid the same mistake, more meaningful change can occur throughout the organization.
Once the standards mentioned above are set, it becomes much easier to continue inspiring employees and even new hires with this honed sense of accountability. However, it’s important to note, that contributing to a company culture begins as early as the hiring process. No employee incapable of displaying signs of accountability should ever be brought on to an organization predicated on the value. Only employees that show signs of being capable of accepting fault and admitting mistakes should ever be considered for hiring.
Organizations hoping to develop a culture centered around accountability will have a tough crack at it. Not only will every level of the organization have to commit, but many processes will have to be rethought and reexamined. It’s important to remember that the bulk of an organization is its employees, meaning organizations should more carefully bring on employees and should empower them to become the best that they can be. For more information on how to do all of these things more successfully, in addition to strategies meant to strengthen your organization, take a moment to check out the infographic coupled alongside this post. Courtesy of Minute7.