{"id":3185,"date":"2014-07-09T19:21:19","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T02:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/?p=3185"},"modified":"2014-07-09T19:21:41","modified_gmt":"2014-07-10T02:21:41","slug":"accountability-doesnt-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.careersingovernment.com\/tools\/resources\/hr-tips\/accountability-doesnt-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Accountability Doesn\u2019t Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Accountability.green\"<\/a>The outcry is loud and clear: public agencies must be held accountable!<\/p>\n

It follows that if the agency is going to be held accountable, employees who make up the agency should be held accountable too. As a result, public sector leaders are considering accountability initiatives intended to improve the performance of public employees. And it won\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

What does it really mean to \u201chold someone accountable?\u201d\u00a0 The common interpretation is that if something doesn\u2019t turn out like it was supposed to, someone will be blamed.\u00a0 The term accountability implies fault and guilt.\u00a0 When we are \u201cheld accountable\u201d our natural reaction is to become defensive, to come up with excuses, or to point fingers.<\/p>\n

In addition to being blame-focused, the traditional approach to accountability is past-focused. The focus is on what has already happened and on who is responsible.\u00a0 Accountability is negative and unproductive.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong.\u00a0 Public agencies do need to be accountable to constituents, and they must always act responsibly, in the best interest of those they serve.\u00a0\u00a0 And employees do too. But in employee relations, accountability is not the pathway to a successful, thriving organizational culture.<\/p>\n

So how do we enhance the performance of public employees without holding them accountable?\u00a0 It\u2019s a shift in perspective.<\/p>\n

Rather than past-focused accountability, shift your outlook to one that is future-focused, expecting employees to fully own the outcome of their efforts. The key word here is \u201cown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ownership is choosing to take full responsibility for your behaviors, embracing the full result of your efforts regardless of the outcome, while focusing on how the future will improve because of your efforts.<\/p>\n

Accountability is often done TO employees. Ownership, on the other hand, represents the way employees engages in the world around them. Simply put, when employees own their work, accountability is the result.<\/p>\n

With this definition, performance-related conversations can be productive and forward thinking. The goal of most performance conversations is to help employees change their behavior, solve problems, or improve performance. Rather than focusing on what you don\u2019t<\/em> want to see, an ownership-focused conversation will highlight what the employee will do to enhance the situation.<\/p>\n

When you foster a work environment that values ownership, great things can happen, including:<\/p>\n