Reviving the Culture of Accountability
be honest
have you stayed quiet while your brother
or sister was getting a scolding
regarding that
mysteriously cracked tea cup or that
scratch
on the new dining table did you fess up
or let your sibling suffer the wrath of
an angry parent some decisions that we
make
doesn’t always lead to positive outcomes
sometimes we make mistakes
the honorable thing to do is to fess up
and take responsibility for our actions
regardless of the consequences
right but what if you’re in a situation
where admitting to a mistake might be
more than just a slap on the wrist
would you still admit to it
i have sat in on meetings where
co-workers had remained quiet
letting the blame fall on someone else
for their mistakes
i have also witnessed managers
who never took responsibility for their
mistakes
and blamed their subordinates or peers
what is lacking in these co-workers and
managers
is what’s called accountability
accountability is the willingness to
accept responsibility
or account for one’s actions
usually if the action leads to a
positive outcome
with praise and rewards there are many
who would lay claim
to the action however if the outcome
results in
blame and reprimands not many
will volunteer to take accountability
in my experience there are three main
reasons
why individuals shy away from
accountability
one insecurities they lack the
confidence in their abilities to get the
job done
or feel that they do not deserve the
position
or the title that they have
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two fear by taking responsibility in
their actions or lack off
can lead to deductions in pay
being replaced or having to forego
professional growth opportunities
three pride by admitting that they’ve
made a mistake
reduces their credibility and
sometimes their respect this
usually increases with seniority
insecurities fears and pride are fueled
by workplaces that
have supervisors who misuse their
authority by
threatening or harassing employees
leadership who encourage tattling and a
loving favoritism
in their workplace leadership and hr
maintaining double standards by wavering
the accountability for certain employees
for disregarding policies and procedures
when such conditions produce lack of
accountability it
forms a toxic work environment
where backstabbing brown nosing
undercutting
become acceptable ways to get ahead
this creates factions distrust and
disloyalty
among employees and demoralizes them
usually this leads to high turnover
which we all know is never good news
these circumstances are due to weak
leadership one of the main qualities of
strong leadership
is integrity and the lack of
accountability
causes loss of integrity
if a culture of a company is shaped by
the actions and the character of its
leaders then having
accountable leaders will promote
accountability
within the company here are ways to
promote accountability
if you’re in a leadership position
reduce misuse of authority by
supervisors
by formalizing expectations
you do so by communicating clear
expectations for each employee
establish goals that are challenging but
attainable provide the authority and
flexibility for the employees to be able
to accomplish
those goals formalizing expectations
reduces misunderstandings and exposes
mismanagement offer training and support
monitor progress at specific
intervals identify areas preventing the
employees from successfully
meeting their goals offer training
and support to remedy the situation
this allows the employee to recognize
their shortcomings and allow
them to improve their performance
which in turn leads to them having
accountability
eliminate favoritism in the workplace
by formalizing employees appraisals
recognition and rewards this can be done
by treating
all employees equally without exceptions
award merits and demerits on their work
performance and not your personal
preference
doing so creates the opportunity for any
employee who is
qualified and has a good work ethic
to be recognized and rewarded for their
work
this may even increase diversity and
inclusion
in your company establish
company-wide standards and regulations
and hold all employees accountable
by carrying out disciplinary processes
when warranted
without bias this eliminates double
standards
and corruption this
list only works if the leader can
practice
what they preach in other words
lead by example all that being said
accountability should not only apply at
the leadership
level we are all
bearing the responsibility of holding
ourselves accountable for our actions
regardless of what we say or do
self-accountability is to be honest with
yourself
and answerable and responsible for what
you
say and do even when no one is watching
you’re probably saying that’s easy for
you to say
that’s because accountability doesn’t
always pay off
some of us might have fallen victim to
those who have used our accountability
against us
and some of you might have had severe
setbacks
because you took accountability so
why should we be accountable if it’s
neither easy or rewarding at times
because the lack of it in society
propagates
chaos so the question is
can we be accountable regardless of the
outcome
most of us with age and life experience
identify the difference between right
and wrong
and this develops a moral compass which
we can either choose to use
or ignore a person’s current state of
affairs
dictates the path we choose
like neo in matrix we have the power to
choose either the blue pill
or the red knowing that either of those
choices have consequences attached to
them
this is best emphasized in the peter
parker principle
a version of this principle can be
traced back to the french national
convention
of 1793 however the credit for
making this famous goes to stanley
the grand master of superheroes who
adapted the line
with great power comes great
responsibility into his spider-man comic
the greatest power we have in life
is the power to choose being confident
in
our choice reduces the insecurities
that’s
caused by doubt and when you’re in this
position of
great power to make a choice you have
the great responsibility
to allow your choice to be governed by
your moral compass
in other words your principles
personal gain and other selfish reasons
should not be excuses for choosing to do
the wrong thing
by prioritizing your principles you
mitigate the fears associated with
reprimands
once you’ve reduced your insecurities
and made your choice
with confidence and you’re willing to
hold yourself
accountable for the result of your
decision
by mitigating your fears there’s still a
chance
that the end result might be a mistake
your choice may yield negative results
despite your best intentions
it is at this point that you have to put
your
pride aside and admit that you were
wrong and apologize for your actions
sometimes you have to be humble and
ask for help in remedying the situation
you have to work hard at reducing
insecurities fears and pride
to be accountable there are times that
you will not be
able to live up to these standards
but if you become successful
at developing the trait of
accountability
then you gain ownership of the results
of your actions because of this
ownership
you tend to be more mindful of your
actions and your speech
this in turn reduces mistakes you make
people who are mindful and making less
mistakes
reduces chaos these days
i find myself in my parents shoes
interrogating my own kids about the
mishaps around the house
and my parents take the pleasure in
pointing out
that the apple doesn’t fall far from the
tree
as a parent i am more conscious of my
decisions
as i do not want to be a hypocrite who
expects
my children to have integrity if i do
not
accountability is a great burden we bear
as adults and it’s especially essential
for those in authority
i strive to be accountable for my
decisions
and actions as a mother
a colleague a friend and
a person and i wish
you all the strength to do the same