There's a strong link between employees who take ownership, having a culture of accountability, and having a high trust workplace in high-performance workplaces. These elements must be embedded into the value and culture of a company in order to see the benefits.

This is post one of a three-piece series on building a culture of ownership, accountability, and trust in the workplace.

Ownership in the workplace 

We take ownership when we believe that taking action is not someone else’s responsibility. It's about taking initiative and accepting that you are accountable for the quality and timeliness of an outcome. Even when you’re working with others. The care about the outcome as much as the owner of the company. This doesn’t mean you have an obligation to own the project or that you shouldn’t involve others. What it does mean is that you have an obligation to the results of the organization and that you act on items that impact those results. Perhaps you have an idea to save the organization money, but it’s outside the scope of your day-to-day role. Or maybe it would take more time than you have and you don’t have the resources needed to complete the task. Given these situations, taking ownership means bringing your idea forward to someone who has the time or resources to get it done.

Accountability in the workplace

While ownership is about the initiative, accountability is about the follow-through. Being accountable is taking responsibility for the result.  It’s not just about the individual and their goals or commitments, it’s about acknowledging that your actions affect other members on your team and their abilities to accomplish their goals. When you say “I’ve got this”, it means you will deliver as promised, on time and budget. What is also means is that forthcoming when you fall short. If you're unable to deliver on time or the results will not be as strong as you predicted, be honest. Being forthcoming shows your teammates that you respect the impact you have on them. Being accountable is a hugely important factor in building trust. 

Trust in the workplace

Trust is confidence that everyone on your team is working towards reaching the same objectives you are. It means that accomplishing doing this with both diligence and professionalism. Trust is the opposite of micromanaging. That being said, good communication and a shared understanding of objectives are critical. Beyond this, it’s important to trust that your teammates will do the right things and come back with results. Low trust results in poor productivity. When you don’t trust your teammates, you spend time and energy following up and managing details that you shouldn’t be. If you don’t feel trusted, you’re less likely to take initiative because you anticipate criticism for your approach.

Having trust in the workplace tells others — “I believe in you. I believe you’ll do the right thing and I believe you’ll do what you say you’re going to do.”

Ownership and accountability build trust. Trust encourages employees to take ownership. Trust reinforces accountability because when you’re trusted, you don’t want to let your team down.

Check back next week for part two of this series.