What is accountability?

Accountability in a workplace means that every employee, no matter their position, is held responsible for their own behavior, actions, decisions and the accomplishment of set goals. Accountability means a culture of ownership for everyone from part-time workers to full-time employees and especially c-suite executives. When everyone is held responsible for their own actions, success is inevitable. However, there is so much more to what accountability in the workspace means, how it is executed and accepted by all levels of the organization. 

In this article we will share why accountability is so important in any workplace based on the experience of Brent Gleeson, Navy SEAL and author of “Taking Point: A Navy SEAL’s 10 Fail Safe Principles for Leading Through Change”.

Accountability in a remote workplace

There is even a greater need for team accountability in a remote work environment.  Team accountability calls for employees, regardless of their position and hierarchy within the organization, to take ownership, and in a remote workforce it is a little bit more challenging to establish accountability because of the lack of face-to-face interactions.

What does accountability mean to a Navy SEAL and why is it so vital?

Many organizations manage to hold their teams accountable. However, in order for an organization to be successful, Brent Gleeson, Navy SEAL, reveals that “accountability it’s not just about leaders holding their team members and subordinates accountable”. A truly accountable organization has leaders and managers that hold themselves accountable. 

This approach creates high performing teams because there is a culture of “managing up” where managers hold themselves accountable and employees embrace upward management and upward leadership. 

For this to occur, every leader and manager must be accountable for maintaining open communication, transparency, trust and transparent feedback up the chain of command. Employees have to feel confident that they can voice their opinions and call their managers to task when something is missed.

The secret to accountability for remote teams

Understanding that the most high-performing teams, like Navy SEALs, have an open line of communication is the secret to building accountability for remote work teams. The best way to nurture accountability for your remote team is to establish a culture where everyone feels free to share their opinions and question decisions made even by the upper management. 

Accountability will only thrive in those organizations that “leave rank and emotion at the door when going into that room to have a productive meeting” as Brett says.

“Everyone has a voice” must be a principle that every company adheres to, especially those with a diverse remote workforce. As a manager of remote teams, make it clear from the start of every work relationship with your employees that trust is essential to achieve results, and everyone should feel comfortable sharing their own ideas, opinions – including questioning the decisions made by the upper management.

How accountability can make an impact by Navy SEAL Brent Gleeson

Accountability as measured by the level of trust, and the stable line of upward communication practiced by every employee in the company no matter their rank, position, and time with the company, has a direct impact on team productivity and team engagement, thus largely impacting the financial health of the organization. 

As Brent Gleeson explains: “Gallup research shows that employee disengagement here in the United States [is often] due to low levels of internal trust and internal accountability […] discipline of leadership in organizations costs us upwards of 550 billion dollars a year in lost productivity.”

That’s a lot of lost productivity. It’s clear that Accountability and trust can have a big impact on a company’s bottom line.

As a leader, take the time to carefully plan out how to establish open communication, transparency, and trust in a remote team environment to ensure maximum productivity of your teams. Encourage employees to tell you what you should do better or differently, what things they would like to see in the environment in order to make them feel more motivated, hear everyone’s opinion and apply their feedback. Following these steps you can start to build a successful remote work culture where teams are working to always deliver the best results.

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