In our last blog post, we discussed the critical key of effective leadership communication and why it is so important to an organization’s success. The by-product of effective communication is employee engagement, improved productivity, and exceeding bottom-line results.

In simple terms, employee engagement is a measure of the enthusiasm and personal accountability your team takes in meeting or exceeding the objectives that have been established individually and for the company. If your employees are not fully engaged in the work they do, then your company’s success is at risk.

To bring this concept of employee engagement to life, let’s review what individual accountability means and how that translates to improving engagement levels that drive positive performance and profitable outcomes.

‍Defining Individual Accountability

From our perspective, individual accountability in the workplace is:

• A feeling of responsibility that each employee values and takes seriously
• Being self-aware of how their performance and behaviour impacts others in the organization and, more importantly, your respective customers
• Ensuring everyone understands their role and its importance
• The realization that every single employee is crucial to the success of the organization

Individual accountability is the key to creating an engaged workforce where people clearly understand what is expected and they have the autonomy to deliver great results for the organization.

How do you create more engagement and instill individual accountability in your business? One of the most important steps is for managers to stop managing and start leading.

Management vs. Leadership

Do managing and leading mean the same thing to you? Successful businesses clearly understand the differences between the two styles. They also understand that true leadership is necessary when it comes to creating a culture of individual accountability and engagement both inside and outside of the workplace.

Here are some of the key differences between managers and leaders:

• Managers drive people to perform; leaders inspire people to perform.
• Managers tell people what to do; leaders motivate people to think for themselves.
• Managers often step in and do the work when times are tough, or people are not delivering. Leaders depend on their employees to step up and support them as necessary.
• Managers tend to get caught up in unnecessary details as a result of wanting to “drive” performance. Leaders are focused on providing team members with a solid foundation so they can perform independently.
• Management is about control. Leadership is about giving people the freedom to think independently in order to deliver great results.

What does all of this have to do with individual accountability and employee engagement? Everything!

How Are You Fostering Individual Accountability with Your Team Members?

Employee engagement is the key to a successful organization, but you have to ensure that each member understands what is expected of them and enable them to take responsibility by giving them the freedom to bring their “A” game.  As a manager or leader, it is your responsibility to clearly articulate objectives, expectations and how an employee’s individual performance links their success and the organization’s success. 

The key difference between management and leadership is that leaders give their people the freedom to deliver their best possible performance while managers tend to want to control all aspects of an employee’s performance.  

Would your company be able to run effectively if you needed to step away? Are your employees feeling empowered working remotely in our new world of work? Are you leading or are you managing to deliver the results you want for your business? 

Let us know what you think about employee engagement and individual accountability by leaving a comment or dropping us a line.

I am here and available to support your leadership success so give me a call at 1.855.871.3374 or send me an email at joanne.trotta@leadersedgeinc.ca. We would love to hear from you!
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