Fostering Accountability to Build an Excuse-Free Culture
Nobody likes to admit they made a mistake, admit that they were wrong, or admit that their performance wasn’t quite up to par. And yet, that’s exactly what we all need to do in our effort to create a culture and a climate where exceptional employee engagement and patient experiences can flourish.
Too often, though, we have a tendency to “explain away” or excuse situations that don’t live up to expectations.
“We were short-staffed.”
“This has never happened before.”
“That’s just one incident; it’s not the norm.”
These types of responses are bad and work in opposition to a culture of accountability. But they’re even worse when they come from leaders. Seeing leaders engage in excuse-making sets a bad example and encourages a culture of excuses to take root.
Instead, leaders must take steps to build an excuse-free culture. Here’s how.
Lead By Example
Leaders set the stage for the behaviors they want their employees to exhibit. It’s important for leaders to demonstrate accountability through their own actions and decisions. To move away from a culture of excuses, leaders need to acknowledge their own mistakes openly and candidly discuss how they will address these issues in the future. Additionally, when staff behaviors don’t meet the standard, address them instead of making excuses for them.
Set Clear Standards
It’s important for employees to know what’s expected of them and that they will have accountability for results—good and bad. Employees need to understand what success looks like, to take responsibility for achieving that success and to take responsibility when the results are not as expected.
A “no more excuses” culture means that employees, at all levels of the organization, will own the outcomes achieved, good and bad.
Encourage Feedback
There’s a lot of value in discussing errors, missteps, and mistakes openly and transparently. The lessons learned from our own and others’ mistakes are powerful. Foster an environment where team members are encouraged to own their mistakes and collaborate in conversations designed not to excuse those mistakes but to learn from them.
By addressing excuses head-on and modeling accountability in their own actions, leaders can inspire their teams to move beyond excuses to accountability and continuous improvement.
Tags: Accountability, corporate culture, excuse-free environment, healthcare culture, Hospital culture, making excuses, Patient Experience
