In this phase of the empowerment zone I’m drawing on all my experience and that of my family and friends who continue to keep me ACCOUNTABLE to my word and my truth and the importance it plays in building respect for yourself and others.
The saying ‘fake it til you make it’ never felt comfortable with me. Faking it means putting on a mask, a facade, with the only intention being to deceive someone else of your current reality. It’s breeds self destructive behaviour and lowers self esteem. Not only are you doing yourself a disservice in learning the lessons life sends but you put yourself at risk of developing mental health issues like anxiety and depression.
The key to accountability is your capacity to be vulnerable with a demonstrated willingness to learn. When you know better, you do better. Accountability is transparent feedback that helps you grow and create the integrity you admire in others. It gives you the courage and strength to accept the mistakes you make, forgive yourself and move on.
Now I understand that a little confidence in your potential is essential, but we all learn that accepting responsibility by default makes you accountable and it is this element of empowerment that is the theme of tomorrows show.
Accountability goes hand in hand with trust. When we all understand each other’s respective areas of responsibility and accountability, we create a culture of trust, and we can focus on the services and solutions we deliver and the goals we want to achieve without distraction.
‘It is important to note that accountability is as much about what is accomplished as it is about how it is accomplished. Regardless of your delivery skills, people will find it hard to trust you and the relationship of respect will be difficult.’ – Adam L. Stanley
‘Environments that have a solid accountability system in place and have a high level of personal accountability among its employees, will also have a culture of empowerment where those individuals will feel they have some (or complete) control over their destiny. By providing opportunities to be empowered, we are also engaging our workforce in what they are doing, but the outcomes of their work. Merely empowering a person without any responsibility or accountability is quite useless, not to mention what a catastrophe it can be to the manager. Achieving a high level of empowerment through accountability is the cornerstone to an innovating, learning, and adapting organization. It is also the foundation for high-performing teams that feel in control, are motivated and inspired to greatness.’ – Darrielle Ehrheart, MBA, FACHE
Accountability is the enforcement of Ethics or moral philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. Ethics seeks to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. As we know the ethical path is changed when elements of the situation change. The right thing is not standardised and is wholly dependent of the circumstances as explained in Harvard University’s Youtube series What’s the Right Thing To Do? It was a series of training in 2009 that instilled the courage and fearlessness to stand up for what I felt was right and stand stronger in my decisions against the unknown agendas of others.
In today’s society many people, including family members, believe that the ‘wrong and destructive’ acts others is not their business nor their responsibility. I’ve seen many lives fall apart unnecessarily because their close friends or relatives simply don’t believe they are the one to hold their loved one accountable for their decisions and actions. They fail to enforce the natural consequences of poor choices based on a moral compass, fearing conflict but instead enable the toxic behaviour to continue; creating chaos and leaving a trail of carnage.
Whilst we are all personally responsible for our choices, when no one is holding up the boundaries, one will eventually push beyond them. It is the ultimate disservice to that individual. If he does not experience the pain of a bad decision, he will continue to make them. If she is left unaccountable for her part in the devastation, she will continue to have the belief she did nothing wrong.
The biggest regret experienced is often the moment you realise there was a point in time where you could have prevented or stopped the loss, pain or grief; but you did nothing.
Do The Right Thing, Even When No One Is Watching: It’s Called Integrity
to FIND YOUR IDENTITY