A recent article in Healthcare Executive Magazine titled, The 85 Percent Solution, is worthy of revisiting and re-emphasizing. The author assumes you are responsible for at least 85 percent of your success. Even if up to 15 percent of your success depends on luck, you can achieve the results you desire.
The author writes,
“Accountability is not only a mind-set, but also a skillset that everyone can learn. It may not be as easy as one, two, three, but it is a three-step process:
- Responsibility. Responsibility is not something you do – it’s a way of thinking and being. When you’re responsible, you believe that success or failure is up to you, even if you work within a team or are blindsided by unforeseen circumstances.
- Self-empowerment. There is only one kind of empowerment and that is self-empowerment. Unlike granting authority, empowerment comes from within. By empowering yourself, you take the actions – and the risks – to achieve a result and get what you want.
- Personal accountability. Unlike responsibility (the before) and self-empowerment (the during), personal accountability is also about the after. It’s willingness – after all is said and done – to answer for the outcomes of your choices, actions and behaviors. When you’re personally accountable, you stop assigning blame and making excuses. Instead, you take the fall when your choices cause problems.”
If you want to improve and increase the positive impact of your leadership on your healthcare organization, focus on responsibility, self-empowerment and personal accountability.
You, your colleagues, your organization, your community and all those you serve will significantly benefit from your focus on responsibility, self-empowerment and personal accountability.
