“Responsibility equals accountability equals ownership. And a sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon a team or organization can have.” ― Pat Summitt
My work for this week is Accountability.
Accountability is a hard, tough word. It means accepting responsibility, following through on commitments, and demonstrating reliability and integrity. Accountability is about setting clear goals and metrics that allow both successes and failures to be measured objectively. The principles of accountability will often go beyond the individual to encompass entire teams and organizations. Done correctly, accountability can turn the ordinary into extraordinary.
In the Bricks or Sticks podcast episode The Emperor’s New Clothes, Matt Doherty and Andrew Sherman joined Jocelyn Ring and me to discuss truthtellers and accountability. I loved the advice and examples they shared during the podcast, applying lessons from the children’s fairytale to being accountable in business today.
So, who are the truthtellers in your company? Who holds you accountable to your goals when things start to get difficult? Who will stand alone, if necessary, when everyone else tells you what they think you want to hear? That person is your MVE—your Most Valuable Employee.
Business owners often ask me how they can build or strengthen their company’s culture, which they view as a competitive advantage over larger competitors. I almost always give them the same advice—create an environment where accountability is valued and visible, not just by the company leaders, but by co-workers as well.
To paraphrase Pat Summit’s quote above, “When your employees commit to something larger than themselves, it gives them a sense of ownership…and that is one of the biggest competitive advantages you can have in business.”
