Responsibility and Accountability at Workplace.

The First Day

On the first day of your job you are told by your reporting manager of your duties and responsibilities. You take the first few hours understanding your role in the organisation and whether or not it is in line with the job description you had read. Very soon would follow your line manager’s instructions to ensure that the assigned work is delivered when due, hinting that the organisation discourages delays. This, in no particular order, sums up the first few hours of your first day at a new job.

Expectation Setting

These setting up of expectations with the employees are met with two kinds of responses; either you are responsible or you are not. The first category would consist of individuals doing everything in their might to complete a certain task without any delay. These are the ones who usually end up taking the blame for their mistakes. The second category would have people who would try to blame someone else for the duties and responsibilities given to them. These are the people who wouldn’t take completion of a certain task as important, which also reflects a lot on their character. Instead of taking pride in their work and displaying a positive work ethic, they display lack of willingness to ascertain assigned duties. On the other hand, the responsible ones would walk the extra mile, take the blame if the task isn’t completed in time, have an unshakable work ethic and take complete responsibility of the tasks given.

The Difference Shows and Affects the Work

There seems to be a lot of difference in the character of the two individuals explained above. But surprisingly, the only marked difference in the two is ownership (or the lack of it). The ones taking personal pride in completion of tasks know that they are required to spearhead the implementation of a task and that they are required to take decisions at their discretion, while the rest are oblivious to accepting the liability for failed results. In addition, it is important to note that while responsibility can be given to you by your bosses, it is the accountability that has to be taken. Some of the very basic elements of being responsible at workplace are: arriving early, completing the assigned tasks in time, helping and getting along with your colleagues, displaying a positive mental attitude and a yearning to work, following the rules laid out by the organisation and discouraging any kind of gossip.

Responsibility and Accountability are Important Work Traits

Being responsible wouldn’t only ensure timely delivery of tasks and completion of work duties, but also make you more reliable and respected, help you increase your self-worth and self-esteem, ultimately leading you toward promotion. Remember that responsibility and accountability go hand in hand. Don’t show responsibility only for the tasks that are done nicely, but also for the ones that have not been executed properly. Take accountability for its failure, improve upon it by learning from past mistakes and strive to make it reach the finish line the second time.

Accepting Criticism Like A Champion.

Feedback is necessary, more so when you are working on an all-important project at work. When you work hard on a great project, you expect a pat on the back by your boss. It could also happen that the great project didn’t turn out the way your boss wanted and instead of bouquets and claps you stand at the receiving end of brickbats or severe criticism. When that happens, you tend to abandon all hope and find it difficult to cope up with the situation. The first step, then, invariably, is to be defensive, then to offer your point of view, some clarification to go with it or completely lash out at the person.

You could be made to take two kinds of criticisms, destructive and constructive. Before irrationally refuting all the feedback, give it a moment’s thought to know what kind of criticism is being meted out to you. Accept your fallibility instead of expecting instant recognition. Take the constructive and simply ignore the destructive. Constructive criticism will represent an opportunity to make improvements and make amends. Tell your mind that you cannot learn anything new without committing mistakes. Accept it for better and know what you should improve on. Many a time, you witness yourself taking criticism with a pinch of salt, almost as a personal attack, or as a deliberate effort by your boss (or a senior at work) to not appreciate your hard work. It is not an easy task, to take an honest look at yourself and your weaknesses, but when you take it without any offence and politely thank the person for their time and effort, it is sure to instil humility in you.

If you allowed, any sort of feedback can tear you apart. Being at the receiving end is not easy to begin with, because more often than not you would find yourself attached to your work/project and any criticism will be hard to take. Start by simply being receptive and open-minded while listening to the other person. After listening to him/her carefully, try the tactic of putting his/her words into your own, like, “Ahh. . .that is what you are trying to say. . .” You need to be on the same page and understand the nature of criticism/feedback. You would come to learn that there may be two reasons why a person is criticising you: first, out of a serious concern to help you improve in your work; and second, out of intimidation or insecurity that you are actually taking steps to improve yourself. Once you are able to distinguish the nature of criticism meted out to you – it shall come with experience and out of controlling the urge to reply in defence immediately – you’d be a better judge on how to look at it.