Ownership & Accountability: keystones for a healthy workplace
Accountability is a management system that we use as managers and leaders to make sure that people are clear about what excellence looks like and how they’re performing.
Accountability is accepting the responsibility and the expected outcomes, both the good and the bad. Anyone who absolved himself with responsibility cannot effectively lead others.
In order to hold others responsible, we need:to establish expectations, gain commitment for that’s what’s expected of them and we need to provide feedback and consequences.
❓Ask yourself two questions. How is this about me? How did I create this? That way, we can stay in an accountable place without slipping into blame.
At least a portion of the system should be owned by everyone who works for the company. Everyone has a responsibility to offer to the system, whether by assignment, design, or naturally. Those assigned or designed responsibilities for safety performance in their areas of responsibility should be held accountable to the company’s management or personnel.
Ownership is not something that you can require of anyone. People willingly will own or will not own their tasks. What managers can do is they can create an environment that’s more
likely to breed ownership by making people feel connected and loved or cared for, giving them opportunities to grow autonomy and choice.
Where should we focus?
In terms of management and improving and optimising performance, both are very important.
Clarifying roles will not necessarily improve ownership, and fun will not necessarily improve Accountability. As managers, we want to make sure that we’re holding people accountable appropriately and doing so in a way that doesn’t wreck intrinsic motivation.
🔊What’s one thing you could do to better build accountability and ownership?
