Have you ever been in a situation ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ, ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐˜ ๐˜„๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐˜€โ€ฆ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜€?

You hear responses like:
- โ€œOh, I thought someone else was handling that.โ€
- โ€œWas that my responsibility?โ€
- โ€œI didnโ€™t realize it was urgent.โ€

And just like that, the task falls through the cracks.

As leaders, this is a silent productivity killer. ๐—ก๐—ผ ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป.

So how do you turn passive listeners into active owners?

One of my favourite is ๐—ข.๐—ช.๐—ก. ๐— ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฑ โ€” a powerful way to ensure tasks donโ€™t just get discussed, but actually get done:

1. Outline Clear Responsibilities โ€” โ€œDavid, youโ€™ll lead this, and Priya, youโ€™ll support.โ€
2. Write It Down โ€” Assign tasks visibly in a shared document, email, or project board.
3. Normalize Accountability โ€” โ€œLetโ€™s check in next week to review progress.โ€

๐—ช๐—ต๐˜† ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ?
โœ… It removes ambiguity โ€” everyone knows their role.
โœ… It reinforces commitment โ€” verbal agreements get forgotten, written ones donโ€™t.
โœ… It shifts the mindset โ€” from โ€œIโ€™ll tryโ€ to โ€œI own this.โ€

๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜: People donโ€™t avoid responsibility โ€” they avoid unclear expectations.

So the next time a task lingers in limbo, donโ€™t assume someone will pick it up โ€” O.W.N. it.

Because leadership isnโ€™t just about delegating โ€” itโ€™s about creating a culture of ownership.

How do you ensure accountability in your team?

Letโ€™s swap strategies.

Abhishek Rajput

#trainers #managers #leaders

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