When our team or us, use others to cover up our mistakes, or we do not assume our failures, the company loses valuable time, that could be used to fix the problem, looking for a culprit. This behavior occurs because, for many organizations, it seems more important to find someone to blame than the problem itself. Which is ironic. Besides, it encourages finger-pointing within the company, making employees risk-averse. Therefore, it decreases the innovation and creativity of the organization. On the other hand, when supportive employers and team leaders are able to hold their team accountable for what they do, the result is often a committed team that leaders can rely on.
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The phenomenon of employees and leaders who avoid responsibility is very common. According to executives, managers, and employees of more than 500 U.S. companies surveyed by AMA Enterprise, 43% of organizations believe that between 20 and 50% of their employees avoid the responsibility of their roles, and 11% say more than 50% do it. However, the most alarming of the results of the survey is that employees shrink the responsibility of their job despite understanding the overall picture and how their job contributes to the success of the company. According to Jeniffer Jones, We know that ducking responsibility isn’t due to ignorance. Not wanting to be held accountable probably has more to do with holding onto one’s job.
Help them understand why it should be done. Regularly reminding employees how their daily activities contribute to the success of the business, is not enough. Most of them already get the big picture, but cannot find the motivation required to perform a task. The reason why they always find a reason to postpone or not do it at all Give them clear and convincing reasons why a task should be done, and how people benefit from it.
Set clear expectations. Along with the employees establish comprehensible short- and long-term goals for which they will be held accountable for reaching. Use the SMART goals technique. Make sure that every assigned task has a clear, stated result both for completion and for leaving it undone. That everyone understands who is responsible for what and the results you expect and when you expect them.
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Accept a reasonable amount of failure. There are occasions where despite the good intentions of our team not everything goes according to plan. We need to encourage our employees to notify us of errors made as soon as possible to give them a solution. Let them know that you trust them to solve the problem and that you are there to support them if needed. Let this be an opportunity for the employee to improve and learn. They should know that they are going to explode every time something goes wrong, and always treat them with respect, otherwise, you will encourage them to hide their shortcomings.
Be a role model, and be supportive. Do not expect your employees to behave differently from you. If you are not able to accept your mistakes, why should they? According to Craig Dowden Encouraging employees to take responsibility for their decisions and actions, and to accept the associated outcomes, can result in extensive benefits for organizations. However, it is crucial that such circumstances take place in a supportive environment.
Related post: Companies Need Entrepreneurs Willing to Take Risks
The phenomenon of employees and leaders who avoid responsibility is very common. According to executives, managers, and employees of more than 500 U.S. companies surveyed by AMA Enterprise, 43% of organizations believe that between 20 and 50% of their employees avoid the responsibility of their roles, and 11% say more than 50% do it. However, the most alarming of the results of the survey is that employees shrink the responsibility of their job despite understanding the overall picture and how their job contributes to the success of the company. According to Jeniffer Jones, We know that ducking responsibility isn’t due to ignorance. Not wanting to be held accountable probably has more to do with holding onto one’s job.
How to increase employee accountability?
Set clear expectations. Along with the employees establish comprehensible short- and long-term goals for which they will be held accountable for reaching. Use the SMART goals technique. Make sure that every assigned task has a clear, stated result both for completion and for leaving it undone. That everyone understands who is responsible for what and the results you expect and when you expect them.
Related post: How To Delegate Successfully?
Accept a reasonable amount of failure. There are occasions where despite the good intentions of our team not everything goes according to plan. We need to encourage our employees to notify us of errors made as soon as possible to give them a solution. Let them know that you trust them to solve the problem and that you are there to support them if needed. Let this be an opportunity for the employee to improve and learn. They should know that they are going to explode every time something goes wrong, and always treat them with respect, otherwise, you will encourage them to hide their shortcomings.
Be a role model, and be supportive. Do not expect your employees to behave differently from you. If you are not able to accept your mistakes, why should they? According to Craig Dowden Encouraging employees to take responsibility for their decisions and actions, and to accept the associated outcomes, can result in extensive benefits for organizations. However, it is crucial that such circumstances take place in a supportive environment.
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