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Develop and Drive Real Accountability is a must in order to get to the top and stay at the top. When you grasp the inseparable connection between expectations and accountability, you begin to discover the secret to holding others and yourself accountable while creating an outstanding company culture. Why Is Accountability so Important in the Workplace? While successful Accountability in the workplace fuels successful organizations, it can be quite difficult and a bit of a Dickens to implement. The importance of proper accountability can’t be understated and over exaggerated, but achieving it can be difficult at first. Companies and teams often face a variety of challenges and hurdles when trying to develop a culture of workplace accountability. The Benefits and overall Performance Gains of a strong and intelligently implemented accountability culture are literally endless. It’s like workplace performance on steroids when done correctly. Aiming to develop a strong company culture? Effective Accountability is the secret and magic keyword here. Personally I had to apply, learn, experience and develop the highest standards of elite accountability early in my life and never look back. Holding you 110 % accountable and responsible while applying merciless self-discipline in your personal and professional life are the keys and pillars to lasting and meaningful success. Competing in full contact martial arts all my life has taught me what 110% accountability really means. There are literally No Excuses. It’s all on me – every time and all the time. This is the beauty of full contact martial arts such as Kickboxing and MMA or even Jiu-Jitsu. There is simply no one to blame when things go wrong in the cage, ring or on the mat, you lose, don’t make weight (weight cut) or have a bad day. To get your hand raised you have to put in the hard work day in and day out. You have to be accountable and responsible. Applying 360 degrees Warrior Mindset will change your life and the overall performance in any organisation. It is better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in a war. Winning is a habit and so is losing.
In Sport and in Business the Warrior Mindset will always be a game changer and brings the very best out in you!
Being accountable also means competing against strong and young opponents in the over 18 young men's division - challenging myself with fighters half my age. The challenges of the implementation of functioning accountability in business are real, but so are the benefits when successfully done. And while building a culture of accountability can be complex and very difficult, it’s both necessary and achievable. Many people think of accountability in terms of what it really isn’t. Most people think of trying to “catch” employees doing something wrong or not fast enough, ratting out co-workers, or laying down a strict set of rules administered with a punitive and also annoying approach. Needless to say that such an approach, belief and mindset can be very counterproductive and harmful. Rather than creating a proactive atmosphere of responsibility and accountability, this negative approach drives a reactive culture of “management by rules & micromanagement”, which is certainly not the right way by any stretch of the imagination. Accountability in motion is a beautiful and powerful performance enhancement and successful win – win strategy on all levels. There is simply no downside to proper accountability.
Believe it or not you can actually build and improve trust and team spirit while implementing a strong culture of accountability, responsibility and self-discipline. When you hold all employees accountable for doing what they are supposed to do, but also for tasks they simply haven’t done or completed in time, it breeds trust, success & team spirit among individuals and teams. It allows people to count on each other, whether that means fulfilling and completing tasks/duties, meeting deadlines, or feeling comfortable enough to approach a co-worker or manager for help and support. While it can be hard for employees to ask for help or assistance, fostering this safe space to seek advice builds independence and trust, both of which strengthen teams and the business. On the flip side, managers need to lead by example and with transparency, communicate openly, and treat employees fairly with the guidance of policies and standards that apply to everyone. This, too, builds a trusting environment and a competitive edge.
During my time in the elite military I’ve also learned a lot about the necessary and vital importance of responsibility, self-discipline and accountability.
Another important attribute/skill I’ve learned in elite sport and military is the magic of Self-Discipline. Self-discipline is one of the most important and useful skills everyone should possess. Self-discipline is essential in every area of life, and though most people acknowledge its importance, very few do something to strengthen it. Strengthening your Self-discipline is equally important to accountability when it comes to personal development and lasting success in life. Building this skill means using common sense, being persistent, making priorities, and thinking before acting. Self-discipline pretty much means Self-Control and Self-Respect. You simply owe it to yourself. Self-discipline gives you the power to stick to your decisions and follow them through, without changing your mind. It is one of the most important requirements for achieving your goals and carrying out day to day tasks such as making sales calls and eating the biggest and also ugliest Frog First. Many recent studies have shown that students with a high degree of Self-discipline retained more knowledge and information than those without the necessary Self-discipline. This is because they are more persevering and possess the inner strength to focus on their studies. 12 Benefits of self-discipline: Self-discipline establishes inner strength and character. Self-discipline means self-control, the ability to avoid unhealthy excess of anything that could lead to negative consequences. It is the ability to reject instant gratification and pleasure, in favour of some greater gain, which requires spending effort and time to get it. It means perseverance and not giving up. It is the strength not to give in to negative feelings. It means overcoming one’s weaknesses. It is the ability to pursue one important goal despite temptations to abandon them. The importance of delayed (instant) gratification in favour of accomplishing long term goals. Self-discipline enables you to withstand temptations. Having self-discipline heightens your chances of success tremendously. An individual with self-discipline builds better relationships and is also more reliable. Self-discipline makes it more difficult to be offended and resentful. Many of us are blinded about the long term growth we can attain from practicing self-discipline. It is difficult to see the benefits when we are stuck in the mindset of expecting instant gratification. Self-discipline really buckles down to a choice. We have the choice to do whatever we want in life. There is no right or wrong, there are just different outcomes and consequences. We never truly have to do anything, but we do have to deal with the consequences of our choices. Applying a true Warrior Mindset will open the doors to success, health and happiness.
In fact, according to a - Partners in Leadership Workplace Accountability Study, 82% of respondents said they have “limited to no” ability to hold others accountable successfully. On the other hand, 91% of respondents rank accountability near the top of their company’s development needs. As author Pete Lowe points out in HRD Connect, “Real accountability happens in the context of a culture that supports trust and genuine teamwork. Genuine accountability comes with a fresh honesty that acknowledges where things can improve and a humility that tempers actions.” Accountability, then, is necessary, difficult to achieve, yet attainable. But it might help to start with the definition of accountability first to understand why accountability in the workplace is so important. Accountability in the workplace is all about setting and holding people to a common expectation by clearly defining the company’s mission, values, and goals. Employee accountability means holding all levels of employees (from the part-time hourly worker to the C-suite executive) responsible for accomplishing business goals and meeting deadlines. While accountability at work is critically important, it also needs to be balanced with the need to give employees autonomy in their roles. They must feel empowered to do their jobs so they can take ownership of their work and strive for excellence. Fostering this culture of employee accountability and responsibility helps yield a high-performing organization, achieving outstanding and measurable results. The importance of accountability can’t be understated, but achieving it can be difficult. Companies and teams often face a variety of challenges and hurdles when trying to develop a culture of workplace accountability. A strong and effective “accountability game” will get rid of the commonly practiced “accepting the unacceptable game” which hurts a company's success rate and bottom line as a result. Another big problem on the way to a fully transparent 360 degrees accountability culture is the common “Left Unchecked Process”. We all know that these bad organizational habits can weaken clarity about roles and responsibilities and further erode accountability efforts. Properly implemented accountability is hard work and requires a tremendous amount of consistency, persistence & follow-through processes from both leadership teams and employees.
We all know that fostering a culture of accountability & responsibility increases efficiency massively and boosts productivity. When employees know who is responsible for what, it eliminates confusion and saves time, allowing individuals to meet clearly defined expectations and therefore accountability. Tying accountability to performance also means you proactively pay attention to both process and results by correcting sub-par efforts and rewarding excellent performance & commitment. As a recent Forbes article points out so nicely, “Clear expectations for everyone on the team coupled with an understanding of accountability for their performance are the key ingredients to improving confidence, morale, production and overall success within the team.” A properly adapted accountability mentality boosts performance and confidence at the individual, team, and organizational levels. A desired win / win situation for everyone.
Successful strategies in Athletes Accountability / Performance point out that Being Accountable is not making excuses, not blaming others or whining and complaining. Accountability in sport is taking ownership of something and making sure you know your job and do your job 100% of the time, which basically means train hard and play hard every single day of the week. Accountability in elite sports performance happens when you are the one critiquing your own game, ability and performance. This is what successful athletes do. Ultimately, accountability in sport means you believe that it is you (and only you) who creates your performance and makes that gold medal dream come true. There seems to be a lot of “You” in the word Accountability when it comes to elite sports performance and it is the exact same in the workplace environment. Showing SELF-ACCOUNTABILITY is big in elite sport for a very good reason. A team leader’s influence doesn’t have much weight if team members don’t hold themselves responsible and accountable to the same rules as everyone else. A leadership position on a team doesn’t entitle a player to play by a different set of rules. It’s all in or nothing. Accountability in Elite Sport ELIMINATES ALL EXCUSES!
According to an article in Forbes, a lack of accountability “can have a snowball effect throughout the team.” When you embed accountability into the fabric of your company, you make accountability everyone’s responsibility by “establishing meaningful goals and team buy-in, building trust through support and encouragement, empowering everyone on the team and celebrating successes together.” It takes a consistent effort, starting from the top, to strengthen company culture. And it requires an honest assessment of what’s working and what’s not. But with accountability at the heart of your organization, you will fortify company culture and achieve greater success in the longer run. As a vital part of operations, compliance depends on accountability in business, holding employees and teams responsible for their decisions, behaviour, and actions. Being accountable and responsible means working with integrity. And by improving accountability, you reduce your risk of facing fines, lawsuits, oversight, or other consequences of non-compliance. Here is a really good example of Elite Accountability in Action. Chinese soldiers and especially the Chinese national flag guard of honour soldiers using pins on their collars to ensure and improve posture and therefore performance.
Roger Connors and Tom Smith, founders of Partners in Leadership, say that no matter how you slice the data, it’s clear that nearly everyone struggles with what may be the most prevalent organizational deficiency today—the ability to hold others accountable. Their advice in 3 short but very effective steps: 1. Frame the expectation and give it meaning: When you sit down with someone to create an expectation, make sure you’ve framed it up in a way that clearly defines what is expected. Be sure to share the “why” behind it. 2. Make it repeatable: Make the expectation memorable by making it repeatable using abbreviations, a rhyme, or some other mnemonic. For example, if you need sales improved by 25% by the end of the second quarter, you can both agree to “25 by Q2” as a simple, repeatable expectation to create clarity and make the expectation memorable and measurable. 3. Set “by-when's:” When setting an expectation, mutually agree on key dates (and times), such as a follow-up meeting or completion deadline.
When you grasp the inseparable connection between expectations and accountability, you begin to discover the secret to holding others accountable. The very process of managing those expectations is the act of holding others accountable. Performing this act in what we call the positive, principled way not only delivers results, it simultaneously raises both individual and organizational standards & morale. Successfully holding others accountable to deliver on expectations, and doing it in a way that makes others feel good about it, requires real effort and skill, even though the process itself seems to be simple. Doing it well yields predictable and satisfying results, taking away any mystery and confusion about what people are expected to do.
There is a common mistake people make when others fail to follow through on what they have been asked. The mistake: There is something wrong with the person who failed to follow through. When it comes to successfully implementing accountability and responsibility into a company’s culture we have to make sure that it leads us NOT to a place of blame and negativity, rather than taking the right approach and fixing things immediately when accountability procedures go wrong.
Practice makes perfect! The difficulties that usually accompany holding others accountable will melt away as the process of more smoothly managing expectations takes hold. Another very important but also very interesting and super beneficial part of Accountability is your personal life. Make sure you make Yourself Accountable for everything you do and don’t do. I will take my modest morning routine as an example.
I’m committed and accountable to a life embracing, life enhancing, body – soul & mind strengthening powerful morning routine consisting of at least 30 minutes mediation, mobility & exercises and as a final step a 2 minutes + Ice Bath in 00.00 degrees Celsius with massive Ice Blocks surrounding & touching my body. Once a month this daily (torture-) Ice Bath has to be between 11 and 20 minutes which is a world class effort. Needless to say that I’m ready to take on anything life and business throws at me! Implementing such a powerful morning routine into your life will not only make you happier and stronger, it will give you instant control over your life and wellbeing.
The benefits of doing every day something hard, something out of your comfort zone and challenging are literally endless. 7 Reasons You Should Do the Hard Things in Life Every Single Day. You Will Grow As A Person. There is nothing more fulfilling in life than growth. You Will Become A Better And Stronger Person. You Will Stand Out and Become a Positive Role Model. You Will Be Healthier & Happier. You Will Become Smarter and More Resilient. You Will Be More Productive and Chase Your Dreams More Purposefully. You Will Be Valued & Accepted.
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