Who is to blame? It wasn’t my fault! Far too many of today’s organizations are afflicted with this pandemic of finger pointing. If it is not a person, it is a circumstance or somehow an act of God. Similar to the backseat that creativity has taken in many organizations; the lack of personal accountability has been even subtler and more elusive in the manner by which it has infiltrated businesses worldwide. Although it is difficult to quantify the hard costs, we understand that the lack of personal accountability within an organization has a drain on time, resources and overall employee morale.

Understanding this, we as leaders, must be willing to practice what we preach. We must take on the challenge of teaching responsibility.  The first principle that we must embrace is that each individual has specific tasks that define the expectations of their role within that organization. The individual is completely responsible for their behavior within these expectations. Because behavior is only skin-deep, we must examine the motive of each individual when these expectations have not been fulfilled.

All motive-types can have difficulty taking on responsibility, each for different reasons. Reds by nature tend to be responsible but can choose to not take responsibility for a specific task if they think it is superfluous and doesn’t directly contribute the bottom line. Blues can choose irresponsibility if they have cornered themselves into a victim role. They can tend to blame outside forces that are out of their control to justify why something did not get accomplished. Whites can choose irresponsibility by not taking the necessary steps to accomplish the task for fear of the potential conflict, which might arise. In the moment, it is easier to choose to avoid conflict in the hopes that no future repercussion may take place. Yellows are at somewhat of a disadvantage because they are innately irresponsible. They tend to fly below the radar hoping to take on just enough responsibility to get by but not enough to drive them to overwhelming success within the organization.

The second principle that we must master as leaders is to support each individual to be successful. This may be difficult due to natural biases we have with specific motive types but our goal is to achieve a balanced expectation for all employees so that they are held accountable in an impartial and consistent manner.  If you begin to implement 100% Responsibility within your organization but do not hold all employees (yourself included) to one ultimate standard of accountability, you are undermining its efficacy in your organization.

The third principle is the most crucial and can be the most difficult to master effectively. This is the understanding that fear only creates compliance, not learning. Employees need to learn to be accountable for their own actions but must also be allowed to make mistakes as they learn and develop. Among the greatest enablers of irresponsibility is fear. Fear of backlash or punishment is the justifier of the majority of employees in today’s workforce. If they only take responsibility for just enough to get by, it creates as safe, comfortable, habitual pocket, which disables them from achieving their full potential.

As a leader, you must understand that employees will make mistakes. Mistakes can be opportunities for growth. Recently, I spoke with a former classmate from college about his current employer. He talked with such exuberance about his company and his boss and I asked him what made his organization so different. He related to me that he made a business deal with a distributor back East. The deal was all but done but due to a mistake, which he made, he lost the deal. His mistake cost the company nearly $65,000 in profit and he believed that he was going to be let go. When he was called into his manager’s office, believing that he was in for a tongue-lashing, he was surprisingly met with humorous understanding. His boss had made the same mistake 6 years prior but rather than costing the company $65,000, it was nearly double that. He told him the same thing that his previous manager had told him. There is no way that he could fire him after making that kind of investment into his business education.

As you lead your employees and organization to adopt the daily practice of 100% Responsibility, you must understand that the results will not be immediate. You must also accept that this may be too much for some. An individual’s inability to embrace accountability is by no means a reflection of your leadership ability if he or she chooses failure.  If they choose this path, at least permit them to fail with dignity without the additional distress of being judged.

As leaders, we have a distinct opportunity to increase moral and employee commitment by teaching them to be responsible. For the first few months, the employees will skittishly test the water on a daily basis like deer in the forest.  As long as it is enforced consistently on the principles provided above, you will find an overwhelming change overtake your organization.

In the case of my classmate, he told me that it would take an act of God to pry him away from his current employment. He is safe to take responsibility and engage for the greater good of the company.  Invest in your people today by teaching them 100% Responsibility and they will undoubtedly earn back the “$65,000” you spend on their business education for the future. ✜