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I understand that a reasonable level or capability and accountability is needed in any given employee, but I want to know as a employee, what do you value more at a personal level.
I do value accountability slightly more, given my recent personal experiences. Capablilties can be taught or self learned and you can improve them over time. Accountability is a bit more difficult to develop and teach. It is more closely linked to your approach to solving problems. Someone can be 100% fit for the job skill wise, but if they seriously lack on the accountability side, it can be quite difficult to work with them.
I usually see them together on someone. Really capable people get that way because they take personal accountability and learn from their mistakes and observations
You can't choose one over the other, or one without the other.
People could be very capable of causing problems and covering them up, but what good is that? [The boss has no idea of what I've been able to get away with]
People could be very accountable for their actions, but those actions could be very flawed. [Gee boss. Looks like I broke the printer again]
You need both, and the capability needs to line up with the company's needs and demands.
You can have all the accountability in the world, but if you are incompetent and cannot do the job, well then (ahem) your accountability won't help you except to be honest and say you can't do your work properly.
If you are capable but have no accountability you usually can get by if you do your job well. If you do well, then you don't need to be accountable because your bosses are pleased with your work and you don't have to explain or zig zag your way out of anything. But if you mess up even once, and try to dodge responsibility, it will look bad.
What I would value in a co-worker is accountability. The co-worker would be honest with their mistakes and not try to blame me for their failings. But if the co-worker is incompetent, that's not my problem. That is between him or her and the manager.
If I was the co-worker's manager, then I would value capability more. I need that worker to get the job done, and accountability is less important there. Besides, as a manager, I would be able to force the accountability on the worker since I have power over them.
Last edited by BusinessManIT; 10-09-2020 at 05:42 PM..
You can have all the accountability in the world, but if you are incompetent and cannot do the job, well then (ahem) your accountability won't help you except to be honest and say you can't do your work properly.
If you are capable but have no accountability you usually can get by if you do your job well. If you do well, then you don't need to be accountable because your bosses are pleased with your work and you don't have to explain or zig zag your way out of anything. But if you mess up even once, and try to dodge responsibility, it will look bad.
What I would value in a co-worker is accountability. The co-worker would be honest with their mistakes and not try to blame me for their failings. But if the co-worker is incompetent, that's not my problem. That is between him or her and the manager.
If I was the co-worker's manager, then I would value capability more. I need that worker to get the job done, and accountability is less important there. Besides, as a manager, I would be able to force the accountability on the worker since I have power over them.
That won't work on every job, so it will depend on your job and the nature of the job. I have worked with very capable people who thought they were so good at what they do, that no way they could ever get fired. Their accountability were pretty bad, that other employees were taking not and started to complain about double standards. That this particular person gets away with being late, calling in, and not following safety guidelines like everyone else, not getting reports in on time. management was afraid to hold him accountable, because he was really good. But in spite of his very capable skills, he was eventually let go, he finally missed one too many days.
That won't work on every job, so it will depend on your job and the nature of the job. I have worked with very capable people who thought they were so good at what they do, that no way they could ever get fired. Their accountability were pretty bad, that other employees were taking not and started to complain about double standards. That this particular person gets away with being late, calling in, and not following safety guidelines like everyone else, not getting reports in on time. management was afraid to hold him accountable, because he was really good. But in spite of his very capable skills, he was eventually let go, he finally missed one too many days.
If that "capable" person is chronically late, calls in sick too often, does not follow safety procedures, and does not meet deadlines, then that person could in no way be called capable. To be truly capable, and be recognized as such, would involve strict adherence to the norms of the organization, being punctual, and meeting deadlines reliably, in addition to doing quality work. All part of the package.
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