A lot of the time people stray away from accountability because of the somewhat negative connotation that comes along with it. Some may find it confrontational or just hard to do in general. For starters, holding someone accountable isn’t about trying to rat someone out or setting rules as a punishment. Accountability should be uplifting and empowering. It’s about setting certain standards for the organization and holding employees to expectations that reiterate the company’s values and motives. It should get to a point where employees are taking full ownership of their work. Company expectations should be communicated from the beginning. If not, it could result in confusion over tasks and tension within relationships because everyone has different individual priorities and goals that they are focused on. Everyone must be aware of the goals that the company is trying to achieve. That way everyone is striving for the same end goal.
As a superior, it may be hard to have a conversation with an employee on their lack of performance. Don’t look at the conversation as confrontational. Analyze the performance and not the person. This way there is less tension and both parties are more comfortable having the conversation. Lack of accountability can be displayed in a few different ways. It can either happen in a personal way where an individual isn’t holding themselves accountable and/or failing to meet his/her expectations or it can happen on an administrative level where leaders are “accepting the unacceptable”. According to an article by “Insperity Staff”, some common reasons for lack of performance are:
- The manager didn’t give clear instructions
- Extra training is needed
- There’s a technical issue
- A personal issue is seeping into work
- Conflicting priorities
These are also things that can cause dysfunction in the workplace. Some employees don’t actually realize the overall effects of insufficiency. When working as a unit, everyone is affected by everyone’s performance.
Accountability creates structure and stability in an organization. It also builds trust among employees and teams. This way people can rely on each other to complete projects and create a safe environment to ask for help or advice. Which leads to the next benefit of improved performance. When everyone’s task is clear and team goals are aligned, this eliminates confusion and allows everyone to work productively and effectively.