We talk a lot at Eliza about accountability and ownership. It is even one of the criteria that we rate employees against when evaluating their performance. This concept really hit home for me this week when an incident happened with my daughter, who is in the fifth grade.

All the elementary classes at her school were participating in a reading contest, and the class that read the most books would get treated to a lunch out. Every student in the class had to read at least one chapter of their favorite book out loud. My daughter was really excited about this, since she’s been an avid reader since an early age.

About a week ago she came home with a note saying that she was talking in class when it was work time. This has never happened before and when asked about it, she said she was sorry. It happened a second time a few days later. She was given an after-class assignment.

When she got home I sat her down and asked why this was going on — she told me that she couldn’t talk about it. Now I am perplexed - is she watching too much tv? Is this the start of teenager issues? Have I been traveling too much and not paying attention to her?

The next day I picked her up from school and told her that no matter what - I HAVE to know what is going with her so I can help. She calmly explained that she didn’t need my help, but the little boy who sits next to her in class can’t read very well and his father beats him. My daughter was reading the assignment to him in class so he could finish it and not get in trouble. She was also whispering the words to him so he could read his book out loud.

I asked why she would do that and she said “because Mommy, it is the right thing to do and no one else would help him.” She went on to explain that if all the kids in her class didn’t do the reading to win the prize, they would make fun of him.

I looked at her in awe and it dawned on me - this is the example I will use when people ask how they can become more accountable in their jobs.

Every person at Eliza owns a piece of the culture and environment of the company. If there is another department or team member who needs help and support, it is up to each of us to take action.

If we stand by and watch things happen that we know aren’t right - we are just as guilty. If we sit around and talk about how hard or horrible things are and don’t come up with solutions - we are just as responsible.

Photo by Clearly Ambiguous  used under Creative Commons License

This is true in my daughter’s situation too. Even though it isn’t “my business” I set up a meeting with the teacher to tell her what’s going on. My husband went to the boy’s family’s house so he could talk with the parents and offer our assistance.

We are working to help that little boy succeed, because without him, the class can’t succeed.

That same all-for-one, one-for-all spirit applies here at Eliza, too. I am so glad I work here.