ACCOUNTABILITY BREEDS RESPONSE-ABILITY

To be accountable is to be “liable; called to account; answerable”. A synonym is “responsible”. Look closely at the definition, and you will note there are two players involved, the one accountable for his/her actions and the one to whom he is accountable. To truly be accountable requires action from the authority holding you to answer for your actions or lack of actions. it is interesting that most often it is used in a moral or ethical context, talking about political and other leaders being held accountable for their actions. I hold this concept in a much simpler context, namely, being made to honor the agreements that one makes.

Think about it. What gives you peace of mind as a leader, supervisor or parent? It is simply knowing you can depend upon others to do what they say they are going to do. Imagine if that were the case with every employee and every responsibility or task that needed to be done.

This is a journey to build a culture of results not reasons. There will always be reasons as long as those are good enough for you.

So how do you make that shift as a leader?

 Do a self-assessment. Are your people honoring their commitments to you, even the little ones, e.g. being on time to meetings, getting back to you when they say they will, etc. What are the consequences or learning for them if they are not? What are you training them to do or not do by your actions?

Having done the assessment, is change needed? If yes, then go about putting in place clear agreements you can hold others accountable to. If an agreement is broken, demand that a new agreement be kept. If there is a pattern of broken agreements, confront the employee and consider asking them to take some time off, at their expense, to think about how they are “showing up” now and how they want to show up in the future.

Also, make visible the commitments of team members by posting your strategic plan in the conference room or holding regular team meetings to review progress on commitments. Then, as you monitor the plan or the to do list as a team, others become aware when team member X has not met the agreement. Reviewing commitments as a team encourages accountability, as no one wants to be the “odd man out” who is not getting the work done. 

Holding others and yourself accountable is tough and not for the faint of heart.