Companies that manage to make their employees responsible at all levels are unstoppable. How does it go?
We all love to meet a service mentality when we do business. We love companies that are fast and reliable in sales, and especially are helpful when things do not go as promised. Recently, a neighbors fridge broke down. She ordered a new one from a local retailer and additionally a washing machine, which was on offer. Both were to be delivered and installed within next 2-3 days, including the disposal of the old appliances. The online purchase went smoothly. Problems started when deadlines were not met, the distributor delivered only to front door and disposal company asked to store the old appliances up to 6 weeks. After countless phone calls, many talks to hotline people, with a lot of understanding but no decision-making power, she withdrew from the contract. Then she received a manager call who wanted to resolve all problems personally and immediately. She refused his offer. After the purchase, she experienced a series of irresponsibility’s, that led her not only cancelling the purchase, but loudly and willingly recounting her bad experiences. Everybody knows this kind of stories.
«Service, reliability, and speed have to be embedded in the DNA of a corporate culture»
A critical difference between low-performing and high-performing companies is their reliability. In high-performing companies, reliability runs like a red thread through all departments. Whether it’s order processing, product quality, delivery or invoice processing, the processes must run in a service-oriented manner. This requires employees who help to do what has been promised – no matter what the cost.
In poorly performing companies you find excuses, justifications, and many explanations for why things did not go as agreed. Promises are delayed; agreements are being broken and timelines or deadlines are ignored. A characteristic of successful companies is that customers can rely on them – whatever it takes in terms of commitment and effort.
«In high-performing companies, responsibility is lived by all members, top-down, bottom-up and sideways»
Good leaders feel responsible that every team member can give its best. Leadership means removing obstacles, agreeing on clear and realistic goals, and installing ownership in teams and staff. Whether quick response times, friendliness on the phone, or keeping promises, leaders should be judged by how well they succeed in getting their employees to take ownership. Of course, every company wants committed employees, who feel responsible for their tasks and customers. Commitment is the willingness of employees to show responsibility, which results from strong leadership. It is necessary to understand people’s behavior to be able to trigger engagement. The quality of a leader is shown by how well individuals can do a great job by interacting with others. To trigger commitment, it needs knowledge of human nature and a sure instinct. If this knowledge is lacking, ineffective leadership and team-building measures will follow.
«Engagement comes from a balanced give and take. This cannot be managed from the top down, for that you need to understand people’s behavior and their driving forces.»
In high-performing companies and teams, commitments are kept. Unavoidable delays are communicated proactively and transparently. If something goes wrong, those responsible are held accountable without pointing the finger at others. Covering up is considered weak, at all levels. Only this enables a culture that allows mistakes, in which there is no fear of disadvantages. This leads to immediate correction of mistakes, which in turn enables actively lived responsibility. Once this principle is anchored in the corporate culture, it will permeate all areas of the company. One nice side effect is, that it makes micromanagement superfluous.
Reasons that prevent taking responsibility
When people are stuck with problems, like cooperating with other teams, lacking resources and overwork they feel abandoned and need help from superiors. Otherwise, stress and excessive demands are the result. By the way, even leaders need help too from their next level managers
- Being left alone with unsolvable tasks.
- Lack of recognition for the work already done
- Fear of failure
- Work overload
- Boring projects and tasks
- Personal insecurities
- Lack of self-confidence
Without exception, all the clients I work with want or would like to take on more responsibility. That is good news. However, they struggle with the reasons mentioned above. This results in dissatisfaction, stress, and frustration for many employees.
What they need is trust, room for maneuver and challenges.
«Companies who promote a culture of responsibility, create change»
YES and NO!
Taking responsibility also means saying NO loudly when things become unrealistic, or shouting YES to tasks that can only be achieved as a team. Those who can rely on their colleagues and superiors have more confidence in themselves. Those who are allowed to grow from their mistakes enjoy responsibility – especially in committed teams.
From a leadership perspective, this means, conversely, that I don’t have to worry about whether someone will keep an agreement. Being able to rely on someone creates trust – in employees, in leaders, and oneself. If people are given autonomy, they must not be controlled in a petty way, but they must be accompanied and supported in their tasks. In return, I can expect them to keep their agreements.