Ask most employees what they think is meant by being accountable for their work and they will probably tell you that it’s about fulfilling the basic requirements of their job and taking responsibility when things go wrong. Actually though, true accountability in the workplace is much more than this and in fact it speaks of a person’s whole attitude towards their job.
It’s probably fair to say that most employees think of themselves as little more than small cogs in big wheels; people who have very little say and who have very little control over anything that happens. They see themselves as being distinct and separate from the businesses they work for and, as has been demonstrated by numerous employee engagement surveys, they don’t feel committed to their organizations. Don’t get me wrong, many of them work very hard for their employers, but still they lack what I will call “an owner’s mentality.”
What if you had a big personal stake in the company you work for?
Imagine for a moment that you own a big personal stake in the company that you work for, or even that you own the business outright. You’re still doing the same job as you’re doing now, but in this scenario how you perform in your role directly affects the business’ success, as well as your own personal situation. Wouldn’t you put in just that little bit more effort? Wouldn’t you be more interested in understanding precisely where your role fits in in the organization so that you could work to make more of an impact? Wouldn’t you be more proactive, think more strategically and take more initiative when you spotted opportunities that could make a positive difference? Wouldn’t you work harder to find solutions or to meet deadlines or to please clients? I’m prepared to bet you would, because it would be in your own interests to do so.
Being truly accountable in the workplace is about “owning” your role and treating it as though it were your own personal little business that either succeeds or fails based on how you perform. Why though, would you want to make such a personal investment and go to all that extra effort for a business that doesn’t actually belong to you? Why would you want to work harder just to line the pockets of the real business owners? Because in this instance too, it’s in your own interests to do just that.
Employees who hold themselves truly accountable for their work and who have an owner’s mentality stand out amongst their peers and they rise like cream to the top of their organizations. By being fully responsible for their own roles, they don’t hold their managers back but instead make them look good, which of course pays off when it comes to performance appraisals. They might not receive a very big share in the profits in the same way as the real business owner, but in working towards the organization’s success, they are duly rewarded for their efforts and they do end up receiving higher salaries. Just as importantly though, workers who possess an owner’s mentality typically gain far more satisfaction from their work by feeling more involved. Now if that doesn’t encourage you to look at your job from a slightly different perspective, little else will!
