An interesting thing happened in Atlanta this week – It snowed! I mean it snowed a lot! In fact, it was more snow than I have seen in years. I am now sympathetic to those of you who live in the colder climates and see snow all the time.  I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait for spring to arrive.

I am heading for Las Vegas next week to speak at the Pizza Expo.  The Pizza Expo is the world’s largest trade show catering to the Pizza and Italian food industry. It is my favorite event because I get to sample some of the best pizza in the world.

Personal accountability is not only an important skill to possess, but it is also in high demand. In 95% of the jobs we studied, we found personal accountability to be one of the top seven personal skills that are required for superior performance on the job. Most companies would agree that responsibility for actions is a major component to success on the job and will look for this skill in any employee review or selection situation.

Unfortunately, personal accountability can be difficult to gauge and is often times not genuine until you can scratch through the surface. If personal accountability is so important to success on the job, yet difficult to find, how can we look for this skill in today’s talent?
 

To help you identify the skill of personal accountability, consider using the following interview questions in your selection process or employee evaluation.

• What person from history do you most admire for taking the blame for a failure?

• What did taking the blame do for that person?
  Give me an example of someone you know whose personal actions led to disastrous results.

• How answerable was that person for what happened?

• What advice would you give to that person?
  What is the worst business decision you ever made?

• What made it the worst?

• What would have helped you to avoid making that decision?

While questions like this might help you take a guess at the level of personal accountability an individual has, it is best to get a truly accurate picture of the skills they have through an individual assessment process. This will eliminate all bias and give you statistical results that will easily help you take the next step in talent management. Soft skills assessments and 360 degree surveys are commonly used in business practices today to accurately assess personal accountability and the many other skills that make each person unique.

An in-depth understanding of the personal soft skills an employee brings to the job is an important aspect in any selection, development and coaching initiative.

With assessments that mathematically measure the personal skills an individual has and is capable of accomplishing, you can dig deeper than the typical resume and interview process and truly discover the potential for superior performance.

We have developed assessment tools that measure personal skills including accountability:
 

TTI Personal Talent Skills Inventory™

More information
 

Source: © 2008 People Energizing People Newsletter | TTI DISC

Front-Line Customer Service Training Program

Getting your employees' ideas should not be an option. If your organization is going to be competitive, it is mandatory you involve the minds, hands, and ideas of everyone in your organization. Getting employees involved not only yields valuable ideas and suggestions, but also the increased morale of workers who feel like they are being listened to results in a more productive and satisfying work environment.

Peter E. Drucker said, "One has to assume, first, that the individual human being at work knows better than anyone else what makes him or her more productive...even in routine work the only true expert is the person who does the job."
 

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