How Can A Business Be Accountable?

Picture of By Darren Finkelstein
By Darren Finkelstein

The Accountability Guy®

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Business accountability refers to a company’s ability to confer responsibility in the non-financial areas of operations — for instance, social responsibility and environmental impact. 

When businesses become accountable, they prove to their customers that financial profits are not their only goal. Responsible enterprises move with accountability towards community, environment, women, and children, which drives business as a side-effect. 

However, accountability in our corporate work is a daily quality that improves work and business relationships. Many leaders educate their employees about accountability but are themselves poor role models of it. 

Accountability is not only an essential quality in business but also in life as individuals. Think of a life where people had no answer to why they did what they did. 

So, let’s look into the next section on how to make businesses accountable.

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How Can A Business Be Accountable?

Accountability is a side-effect when employees and leaders align themselves with the vision of the company. Many times people aren’t accountable in corporations is because they do not care enough. 

  1. Be willing to detect bottlenecks and proclaim them. There are many cases where managers and employees see a bottleneck but are too insensitive to raise a flag about it. When both managers and employees care about the business as their own, accountability will be fun instead of dreadful.
  2. Volunteer to take responsibility at the workplace. Blaming is the easiest thing in this world, and hence, most human beings accuse instead of taking personal responsibility. The habit of pointing fingers at one another when a mistake is made is common. However, you’ll be surprised to see how easy and better it becomes if you volunteer to take responsibility. 
  3. Make choices that create a difference. Employees who work with the mindset that they lack the skills and aptitude to make vital decisions decline the accountability of a team. Ensure that you encourage team members to take big decisions and not condemn or complain for decisions that go wrong as a leader. Everyone learns from their mistakes. 
  4. Contemplate the consequences of your action. Prudence is the right word. Before you set out to do anything, take a step back and look from a bird’s eye view. See objectively what can be the different consequences of your actions. Prudence will help you act better and improve accountability at your workplace.
  5. Always set the bar high. When your team members see that you’re a leader who thinks big and aims high, they’ll naturally set better, more significant goals for themselves. When employees voluntarily set the bar high, they’ll be more accountable for their actions and decisions.

Why is accountability essential in businesses?

Despite various talks and discussions in corporations, accountability is a constant struggle. Transformational leader Anne Loehr claims that 93% of employees are unaware of what their company wants to accomplish, making it harder for them to achieve accountability. 

Accountability leads to good company culture

A workplace where everybody blames one another for mistakes creates a cascading effect throughout the company. 

However, an organization where everybody takes a hundred percent responsibility for their actions and decisions creates a positive atmosphere. It snowballs into everybody being accountable and responsible workers.

Accountability propels individual performance

Most employees working at your enterprise know what their responsibilities are. 

They know precisely what they’re expected to do. When employees are made accountable for their actions, it gives them a sense of pride in their work. They also feel they are part of something bigger than themselves. 

When you confer accountability upon them, you put your trust in them. You tell them, “I trust you and understand that you know better how to achieve results. In case you need my help, I am there.” 

This gives them a sense of self-confidence, and they perform better.

Accountability augments your bottom line

Accountability is an excellent way to augment your bottom line. It is clear that when you and your team are not detecting bottlenecks within your business, you can plan and strategize on ways to push the company forward. 

When employees see each other being more accountable, they push their limits and walk the extra mile. A company culture with greater accountability tends to outperform its competitors and drive 21% higher profitability, Forbes claims. 

Many business coaches like Jason Blumer say that healthy doses of accountability keep people motivated and maintain a flow of ideas and execution, which is the simplest way to move forward. 

To Wrap It Up

The best way to achieve accountability in your business is to lead by example. When people observe every day that the top 1% of people in the organization act responsibly and don’t rely on hearsay, they will adopt the attitude into themselves. 

After all, it is unfair to expect something like accountability from others when you as a leader fail to deploy it. 

Accountability is the way for businesses!