WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HOLDING EMPLOYEES RESPONSIBLE AND HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE?

When it comes to fostering growth within your organization, utilizing the proper techniques to encourage employees is key. When success metrics are discussed, the idea of responsibility and accountability tends to come into play, but what is the difference between the two?

These two words are typically used synonymously, but there is a key difference in the delivery of each. The word “responsibility” tends to bring about confusion, blame-placing, and other unwarranted performance issues. Whereas accountability tends to bring about a more empowering feeling. 

Accountability is allowing your employees to go further than just simply being responsible for a task. It begins with the verbiage used if you hold some accountable rather than responsible is has the connotation of being more significant. There is a conscious decision to go above and beyond your responsibilities. 

A company that implements accountability will likely have people across the organization taking ownership of the companies success. Keeping track of project timelines and tasks at hand is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. People have more pride in their work and the work of the company. This environment also fosters community and collaboration. 

So how do you foster accountability in your organization?

In order to foster accountability, your organization must be able to 

Invest in your people:

In order to invest in your people you must be able to listen to their opinions and perspectives. A great way to begin is creating a culture around an open forum of communication, feedback can be the best way for people to learn. As you give positive feedback and allow your people opportunities for growth they will be inspired to go beyond their day-to-day tasks. 

As an employer, you should be encouraging employees to invest in themselves in ways that bring them to the best possible version of themselves. Encourage them to live healthy lifestyles, do hobbies they love, and spend time with loved ones. The best way to encourage others to be great is to take your own advice, learn from your mistakes and the mistake of others to find new ways to tackle present issues in a creative manner.

Create cohesive company processes and procedures:

Eliminating confusion among your organization helps employees know exactly what they need to do in order for the company to be successful. As you begin to figure this out, start by aligning every project and task with a result related to the large-scale company success. This gives employees a feeling of inclusion and accomplishment as they see their results directly impacting the company. 

Once employees feel a sense of accomplishment, the most common question they will likely be asking is “what else can we do?” Trust your employees to do their job and do it well. 

Another way to encourage cohesiveness throughout your company is to encourage departments to intermingle. When departments work together, the results of the company are come together to create one common result. This helps to eliminate blame and tackle any employee issues as a unit, and with creative solutions.

Support with transparency

Lastly, ensure that you are running your organization with a transparent mindset. Ensure that you are reporting both the companies successes and the companies failures. Give action plans on how everyone can improve and create a better business. As you take educated risk within your company, make sure you understand how it will affect everyone in the company.

When you say you are going to do something, do it. When your employees can trust you to perform, they will work harder. As they need more responsibility, you have to reciprocate trust. If you trust your employees, they will trust you.

Company culture is dependent on how the leaders of an organization foster communication. Empowering your employees will likely result if you implement these strategies listed above. Employees who feel connected to their work will work to create success for the company.