Throughout Ken Lear‘s entrepreneurial journey, he has seen time and time again the essential role accountability plays in success.
Accountability is one of the first things that needs to be established for a successful work environment.
Keeping employees accountable is crucial to success in the workplace. Accountability can lead to higher work performance, an increase in competency, a commitment to success, as well as a boost in morale. Why is accountability in the workplace so important? It’s simple: without accountability, work execution takes a back seat.
Employees that are empowered to take ownership foster a culture of accountability. If accountability is centered on taking initiative, it also needs to focus on following through and getting the things done that were promised. Using this line of thinking, leaders need to be to foster accountability from the get-go. Employees need to know that they are relied on to get their work done, and there isn’t much flexibility.
Click to Tweet: Employees that are empowered to take ownership foster a culture of accountability.
Problem solving is a skill that can build accountability. It’s tough to hold being accountable so high when employees are not sure where to go when they reach a dead-end. Leaders and management must teach the required skills they need, and make absolutely sure they know how to do the job you expect them to.
How does team accountability work? It’s all in the process. How is the team working toward work goals? Is their work effective? Each employee should have the obligation to seek additional information, give and receive feedback, and continue to improve. Building this type of “always improving” culture can work tenfold in building an organization you can be proud of.
Accountability is the perfect foundation for creating an organization with responsibility. If you want sustainable high-quality processes, you need to be able to see what’s working and what isn’t. This is key is helping employees take initiative and make things happen. A little planning and communication will go a long way in helping people be more productive and meet the expectations of all involved.
Be sure to examine how your team is being led. If a manager finds a fatal flaw in their leadership style, it needs to be addressed quickly. In fact, an excellent way to leverage accountability in the workplace is to examine how your own accountability is working. Great accountability in the organization begins with you.
A small amount of analysis and clear communication will go a long way in helping people be more productive, meet expectations, and build accountability. Employees that can clearly understand how their individual goals can contribute to the achievement of organizational goals will be open to taking more responsibility. This increases both their sense of accountability and contribution to the company.
For more wisdom from Ken Lear, check out his Q+A page here!
