Culture & Accountability is a Promise to Employees
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Culture & Accountability: A Promise To Employees
This is a reframe of perspective on why culture and accountability matter, and who they’re really for.
In my observation, historically, the conversations that surround employee accountability are rooted in the notion that employees should be held accountable by leaders to leaders, meaning that they are being held accountable for the benefit of leadership and the organization.
Obviously, employees showing up and doing their jobs well and getting along with other employees is important to the organization’s success, The reframe is that I think it’s extremely important for leaders to approach this subject with a focus of being in service to the employees as opposed to the company.
A job that only leaders can do.
When leadership is holding employees accountable to showing up with a good attitude, to being kind, performing well, pulling their weight, being drama free and excellent to their coworkers, they are doing the thing that only leaders can do; holding folks accountable on behalf of other employees.
Employees cannot hold each other accountable in the same way that leadership can.
If I have a coworker who is not pulling their weight, is underperforming at their job, is causing drama, and/or being toxic and making my experience at work miserable, there isn’t much I can do about it as a fellow employee.
Leaders have the unique position of being able to hold employees accountable to upholding and maintaining the organization’s culture. What it feels like to be part of any team is almost solely dictated by how people behave towards their jobs and each other.
It comes down to employee experience.
In the best case scenario for any business or team, the culture is one where people are engaged, positive, accountable, perform well in their roles, and show up with a great attitude.
It’s important that leaders approach this from the perspective that they are not holding people to a high bar in service of them (as leaders), or even the company. They’re doing it in service of the rest of the employees on the team in order for them to experience a healthy, productive culture.
When the culture is great, people are happy, they thrive, produce more, turnover goes way down, and the company is more successful as a result.
Accountability and culture inside an organization is a promise to every employee and job candidate that their experience is going to be exceptional.
Any great leader understands that they are there in service of the team and their best employees. Establishing and sustaining a positive culture means holding your employees accountable to that promise of an excellent experience.
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop