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  Accountability in the Workplace

  Accountability is the willingness to answer for results.

  Webster’s definition: "subject to having to report, explain or justify; being answerable, responsible."

  Delegation without accountability is just distributing the work

  Delegation is the second most difficult thing for managers to learn; accountability is the most difficult thing to master for management. Sadly, a majority of managers don’t have a clue about how to hold people accountable, and … to hold themselves accountable. Many think, and claim, they do, but in reality they don’t practice it effectively.

  Why is this? Why do most leaders have difficulty exercising proper accountability?

  They are used to working in a culture of conflict avoidance. It is much easier to let things go than to try to hold people accountable and face conflicts.

  They lack the skills to deal in accountability. Because it is a difficult thing to learn, most people don’t have the skills needed.

  This eBook describes the benefits of establishing a culture of accountability and the steps for implementing accountability in an organization.
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  The Culture of Accountability

  There is one core cultural value that no truly successful organization can do without: personal accountability. Personal accountability requires team members to take responsibility for their own actions and help other members to take similar responsibility.

  Organizations that master this value consistently have higher levels of employee morale and significantly outperform organizations that do not embrace it. Building accountability at all levels of the company is key to making a business sustainable. Without accountability throughout the organization, the result is chaos.

  Accountability—like most things—starts at the top. You have to hold yourself accountable and set the example before you can expect to hold others accountable. This is a measure of your capacity to be answerable for your personal actions. Personal accountability is leadership by example. A leader who has mastered personal accountability will inspire his/her subordinates to exhibit the same behaviors and encourage leadership development within the team.

  Accountability is not something you “make” people do; you must implement the culture and you have to have people accept and "buy into" the concept. You need to understand that this may be a new, unfamiliar way to work for your employees, and therefore, you need to teach and coach the concept as a benefit and not as a penalty.
• About The Author
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  Oswald R. Viva is the founder and President of V&A Management, LLC; a consulting company founded in 1985, now dedicated to helping small and midsize businesses. He has over 20 years of top corporate management in large and small companies, including multiple "C" Level positions, 15 years as consultant in high-tech and manufacturing industries worldwide, and eleven years as CEO and executive coach for small and midsize businesses.

  Oswald participated in eight startups either as a Principal and Founder or as a consultant in an acting leadership position, including multiple CEO positions. He was also the owner of one of the most successful franchises of The Alternative Board (TAB). He has served in the Board of Directors of eight entrepreneurial companies in various fields.

  He is the author of “Its Lonely at the Top”; “A Practical Guide to Becoming a Better Leader of Your Small Company” published by iUniversal, September 2011.

  His education includes degrees in Mechanical Engineering and extensive training in Business Administration, Finance and Management. He is a Certified Management Consultant, Coach and Facilitator, a member of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and a member of the Fortune Business Leaders council. He is the inventor of record in several patents and has received several awards in the management and entrepreneurial field.

  Born in Argentina, he migrated to the US fifty-three years ago. He has been married to the love of his life for fifty-three years and resides in Acworth, GA. He is the father of four and grandfather of twelve.

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