WHERE IS THE YOU (“U”) IN ACCOUNTABILITY IN TODAY’S WORLD?
By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group ™
Do you know where the you (“U”) is in accountability in your company or organization? Does your organization struggle with accountability as an issue in the workplace today? Is there a culture at your company that holds everyone accountable? What is accountability? A straightforward definition could be: being responsible for one’s activities, conduct and performance of responsibilities. Based upon my life experiences and my business coaching and consulting work, I can tell you that accountability, and the lack thereof, is one of the major issues in business (and life) today.
Simply stated, accountability in some form is ABSENT every day at most companies and organizations. And if accountability does show up it is totally ignored or punished. In other words, ownership and management will “bury their heads in the sand” and pretend not to know there is something wrong or they will reward dysfunctional behavior of others by pushing work and responsibilities onto a quality person who accepts accountability.
The prevalence of this problem is confirmed in each of the focus groups I have conducted over the years. Participants from every organization and company I have worked with have all listed Accountability as a major issue, frustration, challenge, etc. So why is accountability ignored or not held seriously enough and what are the consequences of not holding people accountable? Here are a few thoughts.
1. There is a real void of clear, direct and understandable communication. This results in people doing what they want to do, not what they need to do and breeds a climate of not caring about the customers or their coworkers.
2. Dysfunctional behavior is accepted or ignored and worse yet, coworkers, management and owners reward it. Remember, behavior that is rewarded will be repeated.
3. There is no definition of what is acceptable and what is unacceptable.
4. Ownership and management do not promote and confirm that accountability is a guiding principle in their business.
5. There is a fear about possible confrontations and not being trained to handle the conflict that may arise.
6. Good quality people will leave your organization because of frustration that the company leadership ignores the issue and is not proactive in seeking and implementing a solution to change the environment.
7. Employees will believe that if the owners and managers of the company do not show that accountability is important, then the employees will know that they can get away with unacceptable behaviors.
8. Each person in the company must take responsibility for the “U” in accountability. And if that happens, we will know where the “U” is.
My call to action to all the readers of this article is simple. Become a proactive force in your organization to encourage and grow a culture of accountability. Take a leadership role in encouraging the development of a list of ideas and consequences to hold everyone accountable. Commit to devote the time and effort to do something about the problem of No Accountability and start by being accountable to you (“U”).
If you want some guidance on how to create or retune a culture of accountability in your company or organization, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his website at www.renaissanceman4u.com or sending an email to jgecoach@aol.com today.
WHERE IS THE YOU (“U”) IN ACCOUNTABILITY IN TODAY’S WORLD? - To learn more about this author, visit Glenn Ebersole's Website.
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