In addition to training and development, a manager’s job is to create a culture of individual and collective responsibility in the workplace. Leadership requires the capacity to hold others accountable.
The manager's responsibility is to ensure that each employee is held responsible for their failure to reach objectives and standards. Having a leader that instills a feeling of personal accountability in their team members is crucial to achieving success.
However, instituting responsibility is not easy. Some leaders are hesitant to do so because they care more about their reputation than the results they bring in. In fact, according to research, 18% of CEOs consider their biggest weakness as a leader to be holding people accountable, while 15% have difficulty letting go of underperformers.
Leaders must realize the need for demanding personal accountability to boost productivity, instill a feeling of pride in their employees’ jobs, and propel the company forward. Correctly implemented accountability raises the bar for job output, boosts quality, and inspires trust among staff.
Here are four suggestions to help you hold your employees accountable.
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Make Expectations Clear
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Making sure your staff knows what is expected of them, the desired end, the criteria for success, and the best approach to take will help everyone work together toward a common goal.
Setting clear expectations for your staff is vital since it is difficult to keep someone responsible if they are unsure of their responsibilities.
It is important to be honest with your staff about the standards you have set and to properly document those expectations. Documentation can be done in a number of ways, one of which is to write a standard operating procedure for all the processes in your company. In this manner, your staff will have easy access to detailed instructions for completing every task consistently. Having an SOP will prevent them from using the absence of information as an excuse for not doing the task correctly.
Staff members learn to take responsibility for their actions and the results of their efforts when clear guidelines are established for their position, tasks, and outcomes. Employees benefit from having clear expectations since it makes it more obvious that they will be held accountable for any performance criteria they repeatedly fail to meet without good cause.
Empathize Rather Than Solve
As a leader, you must recognize that not all issues are yours. It's important to train yourself to avoid jumping in to fix problems for your direct reports. If you try to take the spotlight from your team by playing the hero, you'll lose.
Try not to instantly provide a remedy when a team member comes to you with an issue. Asking people what they intend to do and then giving them the data and tools they need is a more productive strategy. Because of this, your staff will be able to solve their difficulties independently.
Provide the Essential Resources
To ensure the long-term success of your employees, you must ensure their immediate success from the start. It's crucial to back your team members up, so make sure they have access to everything they need to succeed. Employees benefit from improved competence, self-assurance, and a sense of personal investment.
If you don't give your team what they need, you're just setting them up for disappointment. When workers don't have confidence in their ability to succeed, they are less likely to take responsibility for their failure to meet their objectives and more inclined to point fingers at others.
Consistent and Continual Feedback
Constructive criticism is an essential part of any conversation. Constructive feedback is considerably simpler to provide and accept if it is part of regular feedback meetings with staff.
Keeping workers up to date on their progress requires constant communication of honest, candid feedback. It's crucial to keep a worker responsible if they fail to meet expectations and provide a reasonable explanation for their actions. Be helpful in your approach when offering this critique.
Incorporate employee input as part of the feedback process. The more tailored and in-depth the insights gained from employee engagement surveys, the more likely workers will be to respond and provide helpful feedback. In addition, they provide light on how your staff members feel about responsibility at work.
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Final Thoughts
Employee morale and output both benefit from an environment where people feel they can hold each other accountable. It provides staff with the motivation to succeed and advance in their roles.
You must always keep in mind that the success of your team depends on your ability to provide the direction they need to reach their objectives. Your team won't do what you want if they don't feel they have any personal responsibility for the results. Leaders are accountable for fostering an environment that inspires workers to give their all and meet or exceed goals.
