Accountability at School and Work

True Accountability

True accountability involves taking ownership of your work and viewing your life as a winner would view it. Many people think that the only time accountability comes into play is when something goes wrong, but it’s much more than that. Let’s look at a very short example that will help illustrate what accountability mentality is all about.

We’ve heard it many times in the past. Someone will say, “I just do what I’m told.” It’s often repeated as an excuse for not knowing the how’s or why’s of the job they’re doing. Someone else is in charge, and rather than know the certainty of how we fit in or the importance of the task we are doing, we can just resort to an attitude of “I just do what I’m told.”

We live in such a fast-paced world today. It’s important to know how your contributions at work or school fit into the big picture or ultimate goals. If you don’t understand why you’re instructed to do something a certain way, it’s always good to ask for more information. Sometimes you might be able to think of a better way to do it. If so, your suggestions will show that you’ve got awareness and thoughtfulness towards what you’re doing.

Suggestions

• Be the person who follows through, meets important deadlines, and eagerly takes on the challenges of your environment.

•Look for ways to increase your productivity while keeping your attitude healthy.

•Take ownership. Hold yourself accountable by wait patting yourself on the back when you so well and correcting your own problem behaviors or actions.

When you become the type of person who is known to be self-accountable, this greatly enhances your value to any team or employer and will improve your short and long-term prospects.

Managers, bosses, teachers, and other “in-charge” people value those among us who can take initiative, understand processes, and get the job done. Knowing that you’re a person who can be counted on to take the ball and run with it is what will set you apart from the person who has to be micro-managed.