How to Build a Culture of Accountability
Written by Mariateresa Romeo
As a new year unfolds, leaders are encouraged to establish meaningful goals for the next twelve months, share their vision with their teams, and ensure everyone has been assigned specific tasks and objectives to help the organization grow and achieve the expected results.
However, this is only one piece of the puzzle. Setting goals is critical, but you must also create a culture that embraces accountability to achieve them.
Lack of accountability is, in fact, one of the main reasons why organizations fail to achieve their goals, resulting in poor performance and ineffective execution. And more than this. Without a strong culture of accountability, companies face high turnover, employee disengagement, and low levels of trust within the organization.
So, while it is clear that accountability is vital to the teams and the organization, how can we embed it in our corporate culture and ensure it belongs not only to a small group of individuals but is the foundation of the entire workforce’s behaviors?
Let’s start by saying that a culture of accountability is one in which people are intrinsically motivated to own the results of their actions.
It means that employees at any level of the organization, regardless of their role and title, not only execute their jobs as requested but also operate, considering the results and consequences of their actions. In essence, they perform their duties correctly, understanding the impact on others and the organization as a whole.
Studies have demonstrated that accountability is the foundation for effective and productive collaboration among individuals and teams, which leads to improved performance.
When accountability is a shared behavior across the organization, deadlines are met, decisions are promptly made, and people hold themselves responsible for what they do or don’t do and can give a satisfactory reason for it.
If you want to enhance accountability in your organization, start implementing some essential best practices.
“Walk the talk” and model the behavior you want to see
Both leaders and team members should recognize that behavioral changes begin with them.
Leaders, in particular, must consistently demonstrate accountability for their own work and their team’s. By doing so, they will encourage others to follow their example and adopt similar behaviors.
Explain the why before the how
Employees must understand the purpose and ultimate goals to change their behaviors and be result-focused.
From a communication standpoint, explaining how could be enough if you want someone just to execute what you want. But if you want them to own the consequences and results of their actions and decisions, you must tell them why behind it, giving them information about the big picture and long-term plan.
Set up clear roles and responsibilities
Poor accountability is often the result of a lack of clarity about who has to do what.
In the corporate environment, it is common to assume that titles and job descriptions are enough to ensure people understand what they must do and how.
On the contrary, to do their part effectively, whether in a new project or a standard process, people must clearly understand their role in the overall “system” and how their actions affect others.
Specify the performance standards
Employees need to know how success will be measured to own the results of their actions and decisions. They should have metrics defined and continuous updates on progress that help them see if they’re delivering on the organization’s goals.
Also, conversations about performance and results must be based on facts and observed behaviors, not subjective opinions. Again, poor communication can lead to a lack of accountability.
Provide frequent feedback
According to Gallup, an accountability problem may be a coaching problem in disguise.
Implementing a two-way feedback mechanism, allowing everyone involved, not only leaders, to address successes, challenges, and ideas for improvement, is the best way to ensure continuous commitment and focus on results.
The ripple effect of accountability
Establishing a culture of accountability requires time and, as said before, steady effort, considering the magnitude of the change the organization needs to face. However, we need to highlight that accountability is contagious. The more individuals show personal accountability, the easier it becomes for others to hold themselves accountable.
To facilitate this change, it’s beneficial to have a small group of individuals who act as “champions.” These champions should be entirely motivated to hold themselves accountable and assist others in doing the same, ultimately creating a ripple effect throughout the organization.
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