Okay, I have to admit, I’ve found it difficult to get to blogging but as I have some down time sitting cozy as a passenger on route to a dance competition for our daughters. I can’t sit and stare out the window doing nothing, so here I am laptop out with some  time to get some blogging done.

Earlier this year I had intentions on writing about our Plan A Commandments that guide our teams behaviours and have helped form our culture – which I must say is quite stellar. The first in my series was referencing one of our principles – Always maintain a positive attitude. Today I will continue the series with – Be accountable.

It is often said in our office that our team is accountable to a fault. When something goes wrong, a mistake is made or a ball is dropped you will often hear a few people jump take accountability. It will go a little something like this: Someone will pipe in and say “Oh no, that was me, it completely fell off my radar and I didn’t see that project to completion – so sorry” Another team member will jump in and say “You know what, I could have had a closer eye on that project, I’ll take some of the blame on that.” Yet another team member will say “Perhaps I wasn’t clear on my direction and the message was not clear.” There is certainly never a ‘blame game’ within our culture.

We all make mistakes – we’re human, owning up to our errors builds trust among our colleagues. While it is not a daily occurrence to have a ball dropped you can be sure that we all have one another’s back. We never focus on a problem/mistake or mishap for very long. We learn from the error and ask – how can we improve, what could we have done better, what are the takeaways? We learn, we communicate and put procedures in place to prevent another occurrence and move on!

I think accountability is such an essential value in any team environment – when we can own up to a failure and learn from it we are stronger because of it. When leaders who show their teams that they themselves are accountable it trickles through the organization right to the front-line staff – unquestionably true in our organization. As a team, we experience our challenges and successes together.  

Being responsible and honest about the role you may have played in a situation fosters trust and workplace relationships. Talk about it and grow from it – together!