What Is Accountability And Responsibility in The Workplace?

The Accountability Guy®

Home » Accountability » What Is Accountability And Responsibility in The Workplace?

Your workplace is a professional sphere with people who are responsible and accountable for various tasks. This is to ensure the smooth functioning of your company and its imminent success.

Are you wondering what accountability and responsibility in the workplace is? Don’t worry; we’ve carefully elucidated the differences between the two. Moreover, you’ll also get tips on building accountability in the workplace.

So, read on to know more about accountability and responsibility in the workplace.

HOW ACCOUNTABLE ARE YOU?

Discover your Accountability Score and increase the probability of smashing your GOALS and Getting Sh!t Done!

What is Responsibility?

Responsibility is being responsible for completing a certain task within a certain period in the workplace. It is task-oriented or goal-oriented. Here an employee is answerable for the task given to them.

You can divide the responsibilities of huge tasks amongst your team member in the organization. It is focused on job descriptions, defined roles, processes, and task requirements to achieve certain goals.

What Is Accountability

Accountability is holding a single entity, often the project manager, accountable for a situation. Here someone in the organization is conscious of the consequences and steps up when there is a problem.

Accountability is something you share. It is specific to an individual based on their role, skill set, strength, and position in the company. It is taking ownership of the results of a task irrespective of whether you have done the task or not.

You are accountable if you take ownership and respond to the issues that occur after certain tasks are completed. In a workplace, the person who is accountable experiences the consequences for their or team’s decision and actions.

What is Responsibility and Accountability in the Workplace

While you may feel like the terms overlap, there is a thin line of difference between the two. A person responsible for a task may not be accountable for the same. Think of it this way; an intern is, say, responsible for creating the inventory; however, the intern’s manager is accountable for creating the inventory.

Read on to understand how accountability and responsibility function in the workplace.

Accountability in the Workplace

If you are a manager or project manager and fancy yourself to be a leader, you need to hold yourself accountable. You’ll need to be accountable for yours and your team member’s actions and results.

You must be able to take responsibility and face the consequences even if you aren’t responsible for the task as a leader.

Accountable managers help foster trustworthiness and team responsibility in a workplace. When there is accountability in the workplace, you can expect the following:

Lesser expenses and turnover
You’ll have productive and happier employees
Your customer service will improve dramatically
There will be more engagement from your team members if you hold yourself accountable as a leader.
You’ll find your team members needing less supervision. They’ll be more interested to learn the details of their responsibilities to fulfil them successfully
Your team members will start taking additional responsibilities to meet the organization’s goal and mission
Accountability in the workplace will make it easier for people to communicate and exchange information, opinion feelings, and more freely and without hesitancy
An accountable manager or leader makes their expectations, goals, decisions, and more crystal clear to their team member. This fosters support and responsible team members.

Accountability in the workplace helps in reaching company goals hassle-free. It makes the manager or leader responsible for accepting the consequences of the team’s action. Moreover, it improves leadership and team engagement.

Responsibility in the Workplace

Responsibility in the workplace is when your team members willingly accept rewards and consequences for their tasks. This is task-oriented. If you give responsibility to your employee, you can expect the following:

They’ll feel empowered
You can hold your employee responsible for their task
You can call out any neglect of responsibility
Responsibility will make your employee work harder to meet company goals
If you are an accountable leader, your employee will willingly take more responsibilities
Responsibility can improve performance if due credit is given
They’ll feel obligated to maintain deadlines and budget when being held responsible for a task

Responsibility in the workplace will help boost confidence, creativity, and performance levels.

How To Build Accountability and Responsibility In The Workplace

For starters, you need to change your perspective. When you’re in business, time is money. You may think that you can get something done tomorrow, but the time you’ve wasted is the time you’ve given your competitor to win an edge over you. And in the period of a few months, that edge soon turns into your competition being miles ahead of you.

You are literally losing money when you’re getting nothing done. If you’re serious about your business and want to be a high performance entrepreneur, you need to change that. Not tomorrow. Not the next hour. Right now.

If you’re struggling with all these issues and your business isn’t doing well, you need an accountability partner. That’s yours truly, Darren Finkelstein. Here’s what I can help you with:

Selling More & Earning More – Accountability will help you create opportunities, and opportunities are where you make money.

Improving Efficiency – It will also help you get more things done in less time, enhancing the overall productivity of your business.

Creating Accountability Culture – You will start to lead by example when it comes to being accountable and delivering on your promise.

Learning to multi-task – Accountability will save you enough time and resources to handle multiple tasks on a daily basis.

Endnotes

Responsibility and accountability in the workplace give a sense of purpose in the company. It helps you achieve 99% of the goals, mission, and vision of the company.

Suppose you are stuck on how to achieve responsibility and accountability in the workplace. You can consult an accountability coach like Tick Those Boxes.

These coaches will give you tips on building accountability and responsibility in your workplace to help you achieve your goals, promises, and more. They will examine your current position and give you a pathway to get where you want.

So, build responsibility and accountability in your workplace and ensure your company’s success.

About The Author

Darren Finkelstein, The Accountability Guy®, is the founder of TICK THOSE BOXES, a specialised accountability coaching practice. Darren is a formidable international accountability coach, business advisor, mentor, and author/speaker, fostering development and measurable results in entrepreneurship, leadership, and accountability. Darren’s tale is one of perseverance, self-reinvention, and resilience.

With compelling execution, Darren has empowered high-achieving individuals and teams from Australia and New Zealand to Latin America, Europe, Asia, the UK, and the US to embrace accountability; after all, it is your superpower.

Darren’s one-on-one and group coaching programs are based on his bestselling business book, “The Accountability Advantage – Play your best game” and the latest, release “NO’ – Building a life of choice without obligation”.

Darren has an impressive background in business, having held the role of “Manager of Commercial Markets” at Apple Australia during the Steve Jobs revolution.

He enthusiastically “walks the talk,” having also successfully sold and exited his lifestyle businesses, which served as the impetus for establishing his coaching and mentoring business.

Join Darren on this transformative quest to accomplish the remarkable.

Read Darren’s full bio here:
https://tickthoseboxes.com.au/about/