Why do employees avoid responsibility even when they understand their role?

Per Jeniffer Jones of AMA Enterprise, it isn't ignorance — it's about protecting their job, not wanting to be held accountable.

How should leaders handle employee mistakes?

Encourage quick reporting, treat people with respect, and use the moments as learning opportunities; otherwise employees will hide errors.

What is the leader's role in building accountability?

Be a role model. Don't expect behavior you don't display yourself, and create a supportive environment around accountability.

Stop the Blaming Game: Increase Employee Accountability

Stop the Blaming Gain: Increase Employee Accountability

When a team points fingers or covers mistakes, the company loses time. Time it could use to fix the problem, not hunt a culprit. This happens because many organizations prioritize finding someone to blame over solving the issue itself. It's ironic.

This behavior encourages internal finger-pointing. Employees become risk-averse. Innovation and creativity shrink. But when leaders hold their teams accountable, the result is often a committed group they can rely on.
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The problem of employees and leaders avoiding responsibility is common. AMA Enterprise surveyed over 500 U.S. companies (2012). 43% of organizations reported 20-50% of their employees shirk responsibility. 11% said over 50% do it.
The alarming part? Employees duck responsibility even when they understand the big picture and how their job contributes to company success. Jeniffer Jones, AMA Enterprise (2012), noted, "We know that ducking responsibility isn’t due to ignorance. Not wanting to be held accountable probably has more to do with holding onto one’s job."

How do you increase employee accountability?

Help them understand why. Regularly reminding employees how their daily work feeds business success isn't enough. Most already grasp the big picture. They just lack the motivation to do the task. That's why they postpone or skip it. Give them clear, convincing reasons why a task matters. Show them how people benefit.
Set clear expectations. Work with employees to establish comprehensible short- and long-term goals. They'll be accountable for reaching these. Use the SMART goals technique. Make sure every assigned task has a clear, stated result—both for completion and for leaving it undone. Everyone must understand who's responsible for what, the results you expect, and when you expect them.
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Accept a reasonable amount of failure. Sometimes, despite good intentions, things don't go to plan. Encourage employees to report errors quickly so you can find solutions. Let them know you trust them to solve problems and that you're there to support them. Use these moments as opportunities for improvement and learning. Employees shouldn't fear an explosion every time something goes wrong. Always treat them with respect. Otherwise, you'll just encourage them to hide their shortcomings.
Be a role model, and be supportive. Don't expect your employees to act differently than you do. If you can't accept your own mistakes, why should they? Craig Dowden (HRVoice, 2013) noted, "Encouraging employees to take responsibility for their decisions and actions, and to accept the associated outcomes, can result in extensive benefits for organizations. However, it is crucial that such circumstances take place in a supportive environment."