By Kelley Reynard

What are some of the first thoughts that come to mind when someone says ‘You need to be accountable for your actions!?’ Fear? Threat? Stress? The feeling of expectations and these negative reactions to accountability are often due to our past experiences. Most of us have experienced the word accountability as a ‘punishment’ for not doing something. Accountability shows up when something goes wrong and people start to lay blame. However, in reality, winning begins with accountability and success cannot be attained without it. Successful organisations install accountability on the front end of interactions before the outcome is known. They weave accountability into the fabric and strategy of the organisation, which ultimately breeds better relationships, eliminates surprises, and vastly improves job satisfaction and performance.

So how do you drive a culture of accountability, to ensure employees understand how they contribute to the organisation and feel responsibility for delivering in that role, to in turn, impact on the bottom line?

According to Josh Leibner, best-selling Author, Speaker, and Consultant to Leaders, accountability can be cultivated, and begins by hiring people who identify with the mission and desired team culture. It cannot however, be mandated. By saying “You are accountable for this…..” doesn’t ensure someone feels ownership. Accountability should not be defined as a punitive response to something going wrong. As a first step on the road to creating a culture of accountability, streamlining the word to carry a more positive connotation will resonate more with employees, and should look something like this: Accountability – ‘Clear commitments that – in the eyes of others – have been kept’. When we make a commitment, we have to fulfil that commitment in the eyes of others. It is not good enough to fulfil that commitment in our eyes; it needs to be in the eyes of others which is the tricky part. When employees are accountable, it is necessary for them to go to customers, suppliers, the people they work for, and their colleagues – and ask them “How am I doing?” This allows them to hold the employee accountable for their commitments. Reliability is also key to being accountable, and employees need to reflect and ask themselves, “Can people count on me to do what I say I’ll do, as I said I would do it?”

In addition, Leibner explains that leaders need to ensure people understand you are asking them to own outcomes not activities. You want the person who takes care of payroll at your organisation to take ownership for everyone being paid on time, not the activity of entering the numbers. If they find a better way to ensure everybody is paid on time – and does so in ways that improve people’s satisfaction and increase your bottom line – that’s the real prize. As an organisation, you want people to stop paying attention to the amount of time they spend doing things, and pay attention to the ultimate outcome desired. When people are accountable, they stop watching the clock; they seek ways to make improvements and take initiative to change what doesn’t work. They ask for opportunities to do and learn more so they can be successful at fulfilling their purpose, which in the end gives a boost to yours. Accountability is about high performance It’s about employees willing to hold themselves to a standard that improves the organisation and also having a willingness to be held accountable by others.

To learn more about creating a culture of accountability, please click the following link: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229524