Responsibility and accountability at the Workplace

Responsibility and accountability are often used to mean the same thing. When you are holding an executive position you will be able to make a distinction between the two.

When you recruit new staff, it is your responsibility to conduct an orientation and provide training to make sure that he is able to do the job as required. The new staff is responsible to get the job done. When an assignment is not done accordingly, the staff may be responsible for the work but you are accountable for the outcome.

The questions are:

· Are you the one who is giving the order to get the job done?

· Have you chosen the right person for the job?

· Is the person given adequate training and full instructions to get the job done?

· Has he been properly supervised?

You can’t blame the staff or pass the buck to him. You see, when a job is done well you get the full credit.

On the other hand, when you are given an assignment by your boss and you have to do it all by yourself, you are responsible to get it done and accountable for the outcome. When it is executed properly you get a pat from your boss. When you screw up, blame yourself and nobody else.

You can be a responsible and accountable executive by taking the following steps:

· Accept the consequences of your action

· Don’t blame others when things do not turn up right. The buck stops here.

· Don’t give excuses. Excuses mean that you are trying to say that you are not responsible.

· Forgive yourself. Learn from the mistakes and move on.

· Admit that you are wrong gracefully. People will respect you more for your strong character.

As an executive at the workplace, you may not be responsible but you are accountable.

What do you think?