Personal Accountability

Does personal accountability still exist? I’ve been thinking a lot about today’s workforce and the trend toward quiet quitting and malicious compliance.  More importantly, I’ve been thinking about why it happens and what we can do about it. If you scan sites like Reddit or Bored Panda you’ll see people boast about getting back at their bosses by only doing the minimum required to stay employed.  It’s called quiet quitting and for some reason, people think it’s a great way to “own” the boss. There’s also a thing called malicious compliance, which is the practice of doing exactly what you’re told knowing the results will be negative or harmful.  A lot of people think the stories are hilarious. I think they spell trouble. Also, as a servant leader, it makes me very sad.

Why it Happens

Face it, there are some horrible bosses out there (hopefully, this blog keeps you from being one of them). But there are also some horrible employees and when you put them together, well, as they say, stuff happens.  There is no one real cause but I believe that the lack of personal accountability is one of the root causes of the disconnect between a manager and their direct reports.  If I don’t hold myself accountable for my actions, I can’t expect you to trust or respect me as your boss.  It also works in reverse. If there’s mistrust and disrespect, communication breaks down and resentment sets in.  Let the quiet quitting begin.

What is Personal Accountability?

There are a gazillion definitions of accountability but it really boils down to what it means to you. For me, it boils down to one word – ownership. At the end of the day, do you take ownership of your actions, attitude, consequences, and reactions?  Ask yourself if you take responsibility for the outcomes.

For Managers

You have a big, complex job and it can be challenging to keep all the balls in the air. As you go about your day, you have an obligation to your team to give them the best shot for favorable outcomes.  Ask yourself:

• Were my directions clear? Did I check for understanding?
• Did I make sure they had the tools and supplies needed for success
• Did I address any questions or concerns?
• Did I treat them with dignity and respect?

In short, did you set them up for success?  If you didn’t, you didn’t do your job and cannot hold them accountable for negative outcomes. If you gave them every chance to be successful, then let them know that you are holding them accountable for seeing the project through.

For Employees

Guess what? You were hired to do a job to the best of your ability and quiet quitting or malicious compliance is not part of the job description.  If you have issues with your manager, speak up.  Yes, it takes courage but it can be done in a way that fosters trust and respect. Some things to think about:

• Am I doing the best I can?
• Did I ask for directions and clarification until the instructions were clear?
• Did I see a different/better way to accomplish the job? If so, did I speak up?
• Did I try to foster a real relationship with my manager/team/stakeholders?

If not,  you’re not doing your part and you need to take a look at why you’re underperforming. I get it, some managers are just awful and it may be better to leave. There’s nothing wrong with that but you have a responsibility to give it your best shot whenever you show up for work.

 Which Hat Are You Wearing Today?

Are you a coach or mentor? More importantly, do you know when you need to assume each role? You know that it’s important to be able to perform both roles but do you know which hat to wear and when? :

 When you get promoted, you take on the responsibility of leading others to achieve organizational goals.  Pretty simple, right? You’re given the authority, you accept the responsibility, and you are assumed to have the basic skills for success.  What’s often lacking, especially in the beginning, is understanding the difference between managing, coaching, and mentoring the team.

The Manager

Management is the process of getting work done through others. Whether you’re assigning tasks, creating projects, or delegating responsibilities. You’re the one that keeps the train running on schedule. To do that you must have the right people in the right jobs and that they have the right skills to do it.

The Coach

Coaching is a bit different. Once you’ve started assigning work to your team, you start to notice how well they perform. Improving performance requires that you elevate your skill set.  You’ve got everyone in the right jobs with the right skills but the train is running a little slower than you’d like. Now you start to assess your team and figure out who may need some individual instruction to get things back on schedule. This is where you become the analyst and the teacher. This is where you go 1:1 and create specific goals and instructions for the individual team member.

The Mentor

Mentoring is a whole different ball game.  Your team is performing as expected and the train is running smoothly. One of your strong performers wants more. They want more responsibility and career development.  In my opinion, this is where your leadership skills come into play.  Great mentors create great organizations because they are invested in owning the whole . The great thing about mentoring is that it’s not about correcting problems or teaching skills. It’s about the employee’s career development and the future of the organization.  It’s about using your knowledge and skills to guide them through growing pains as they attempt to figure out who they are, what they want, and how to get there. Heck, it’s not even really about the train.

While coaches are in the business of helping team members improve, it is not the time and place for mentoring. On the other hand, mentoring can be a component of coaching.  Your job is to know the difference.

Owning the Whole

“Owning the whole” is a phrase I learned some time ago and I love the idea.  What is it? It’s when you go all in and understand not only what you’re doing but why you’re doing it.  I submit that if we can convey the idea of owning the whole, our workplaces can become the place where we get to go to work, not where we have to go to work. Why is that important? Simple, when we believe in and enjoy what we do, we start to own it.  That’s the point when we start to do our best work.

What it means 

The concept is pretty simple.  It means understanding that your actual job is only one part of your role in the organization.  I retired as a city employee after working in three separate divisions. I started in the Police Department, processing crime scenes, moved over to Parking Compliance where I enforced parking violations, and ended my career in Animal Services as the call center manager. Regardless of my day job, I never forgot that I was also a  city ambassador and my job was to be the best representative of the city that could be.

What it Looks Like

As you can imagine, the work could be tough. I can’t count the number of times people called me names,  cussed me out, and reminded me that they paid my salary (when that happened, I usually asked them for a raise). Didn’t matter,  I loved every minute of it.  There were days I wrote a ton of tickets but there were also many days when I found a stolen car and it was returned because I checked the registration.  Then there was the time an elderly couple of visitors couldn’t remember where they parked their car. It took a few minutes but I found it.  Yeah, they probably still think  San Jose is the friendliest city in the world. Owning the whole felt good.

Owning the whole meant picking up the trash as I walked into a building.  Yes, people were hired to do it but I was the one that was there at the moment and it was my city. It also meant making sure the citizens saw that I did my job without favor.  When I became a supervisor, I would often take calls from irate citizens about their tickets.  If a ticket was issued in error,  I dismissed the citation.

On the other hand, I would routinely get calls from citizens who informed me that they would call the mayor.  My response: “when you talk to him, ask him if he ever paid that ticket I gave him”.  Yeah, I really did ticket the mayor’s car.  You see, owning the whole means not giving my fellow citizens a chance to say, “the mayor parked illegally and she did nothing”.  It wasn’t about the ticket, it was about the perception.

How to Do It

Owning the whole means understanding what your organization is all about.  It may start with the company mission but we all know that mission statements can be difficult to internalize and put into action; especially if they’re more than 5 words long.  Don’t believe me? Ask your team to recite the company’s mission.  If you want to make it meaningful, ask them to explain it in their own words.  Ask them what it actually means to them and how they will live that meaning day in and day out. Once they connect with why the company exists, they’ll start to own the whole.

It’s not about making the best widgets or being the best at whatever.  It’s about believing in the organization and understanding how daily show the overall company’s heart.  It requires conversations about what lies beyond the job description. I’m not talking about blind loyalty or company pride – I’m talking about owning a place in the organization and taking responsibility for walking the talk.  Owning the whole is teamwork at its absolute best.