#EveryLittleActionCounts Week 21: Become Responsible & Accountable!
This week is a call to foster Responsibility & Accountability. Fostering responsibility and accountability leads to enhanced trust and integrity, improved performance and innovation, and strengthened organizational resilience. These benefits collectively contribute to a more positive, effective, and sustainable organizational culture.
“Eventually, we all have to accept full and total responsibility for our actions, everything we have done, and have not done.”
– Hubert Selby Jr.
We can support cultivating a culture of responsibility and accountability by focusing on the following five key elements:
Clear Communication of Expectations and Goals: Ensure that expectations and goals align with the institutions’ mission, values and strategic objectives. Transparent communication fosters a sense of purpose and direction, empowering employees to take ownership of their work and align their efforts with their institution.
Empowerment and Autonomy: Empowering employees can enhance their sense of agency and motivation, leading to enhanced engagement, interaction, work and innovation. It also encourages a proactive approach to problem-solving, accountability and change-making.
Feedback and Recognition: Strength-based, positive approaches to feedback and recognition reinforce desirable behavior and contribute to a culture of appreciation and continuous improvement. This can boost morale and encourage collective care and commitment to positive change-making and delivering of outputs to high standards.
Leadership by Example: Leaders who embody accountability set a powerful role model, creating a culture of trust and integrity. Their behavior can inspire similar conduct throughout the organization, reinforcing a positive and caring organizational culture.
Supportive Environment and Resources: A supportive environment enhances well-being and reduces, stress, enabling everyone to perform at their best. When individuals feel supported, they are more likely to take responsibility and accountability for their work and contribute positively to positive change-making, interaction and overall culture.
We recommend the following three sources that can support you in becoming responsible and accountable.
- Creating a responsible workplace
- Why accountability in the workplace is important
- How to foster accountability in the workplace
We would be very happy to learn more about your suggestions on how to become responsible and accountable in academia.
Anne-Wil Harzing & Christa Sathish.
