Business leaders recognise that the pace of change is constantly increasing. Organisations are now expected to play a pivotal role in driving and sustaining long-lasting change in society. That’s hard to do without an authentic purpose that is lived and breathed by the whole organisation.  

In a recent study of 1000 CEOs, 89% of their organisations had a purpose, but the CEOs’ biggest challenge was making it actionable and relevant. Connecting people to purpose requires everyone to be accountable for that purpose, and feel empowered to make decisions in pursuit of it. It can’t be left only to the leaders at the top. 

However, change fatigue for employees is real. They need to be re-energised to build their creativity. How can we unlock the passion and joy people find in their work? How can we reignite the pride and purpose in our people without it feeling like yet another change initiative?  

Empowering your team starts with you 

The answer lies in empowering employees through clear accountability and devolved leadership. In a recent United Minds study of 1000 US and UK-based employees, 77% believe leaders could drive more accountability. Similarly, 75% believe leaders could empower employees more. For organisations to harness the opportunities within today’s rapidly changing business climate, it is critical for all employees to be accountable for the organisation’s success – and most importantly, to feel empowered to do so. 

United Minds has developed a simple visual framework to help you explore, define and activate the critical factors needed to drive greater accountability and empowerment of your people. The ultimate benefit is creating the conditions for everyone to actively contribute towards strengthening your business.  

The questions below will help you take a closer look at each of these critical factors.

Click here to review the full framework

The Why: Purpose, Vision and Strategy

You can only hit the target if you know what you are aiming at. People need to have a North Star to guide them when they are making decisions. Understanding the purpose, vision and strategy ensures their actions are aligned with the organisation’s priorities and its strategic intent for creating value. 

Questions to help you explore The Why: 

• Is our purpose/ reason for being and vision clearly defined? 
• Do our  employees feel connected to the purpose and vision? Do they understand the role they play to make these a reality? 
• Are employees well-informed about the strategy, and do they understand how they contribute to its delivery? 

Think about these questions from the point of view of the employee. As a leader, you will have a much closer connection to the business strategy and to the purpose and vision, and be clear on your role. Can you confidently – and measurably – say the same for your team? 

The Way: Culture

Culture guides the “way things are done” in an organisation. Having a culture that is built on genuine vulnerability-based trust; that values feedback to enable honest conversations; and fosters a sense of agency to make decisions and take accountability without fear, ensures growth for individuals and better outcomes for the organisation.

Questions to help you explore The Way:

• What are the current levels of trust in your team? For example:
  – Do managers trust the team to deliver results by providing guidance rather than by controlling everything?
– Do people feel safe to own up to shortcomings, and discuss their learnings from failures?

• Are you promoting a strong feedback culture?
   A mature feedback culture is one where learning from past wins and failures is the norm, where  teams are coached (not corrected) through mistakes and barriers, and where people feel safe to disagree and voice concerns, to reach a better outcome.
  
  
• Are people in your organisation empowered to proactively step up to drive organisational goals?
  – Ways to identify if you’re empowering your people include checking whether managers measure outcomes, not just inputs, and recognize the right behaviours in their teams.
  – What stories are people sharing? Do they reinforce proactivity?
  
  

Are people in your organisation empowered to proactively step up to drive organisational goals?
– Ways to identify if you’re empowering your people include checking whether managers measure outcomes, not just inputs, and recognize the right behaviours in their teams.
– What stories are people sharing? Do they reinforce proactivity?

The How: Processes and Systems 

Policies, processes and systems go some way to activating these critical factors and making the behaviour change more sustainable. These should be designed to promote and reward individual ownership, with defined responsibilities that create clarity and accountability without limiting initiative. Underpinning these should be measures on how improved empowerment and accountability tangibly impact business and purpose KPIs. 

Questions to help you explore The How: 

• Do the decision-making processes in your team/ organisation promote individual ownership and accountability? 
• Are roles and responsibilities in your teams / projects well defined, with clear accountabilities? 
• Does your organisation actively develop the right skills to enable devolved leadership? (critical thinking, thoughtful risk-taking, delegating, etc.). 

Don’t do it alone 

Now that you have explored the why, the way and the how behind enabling greater accountability and empowering your team to drive purpose-led change, it’s time to put it into action. Role model empowering your team by identifying people to develop a plan and put it into action. United Minds partners with organisations to design tailored solutions, starting with assessing where your culture currently is, and how you want it to evolve to get you closer to your Why. We support you in bringing your team along the journey through our people-centered approach – resulting in genuine empowerment and sustainable change, with a clear business impact in mind.  

Click here to speak to us about how we can help.