I recently sat down with a senior executive that we’ll call Mike. He had just held a team meeting to address poor performance and to point out which individuals were not pulling their weight. He knew he had exploded, but the frustration had been building up for weeks.
He looked at me wearily and said, “Our results aren’t what they need to be — I just don’t know how to hold them accountable.”
Right then, I understood why Mike was having so many challenges with accountability.
I asked him, “Mike, what’s your role in accountability?”
He thought for a moment, “Well, it’s my job to ensure people meet their commitments – I have to hold them accountable.”
Mike hit upon a common misconception about accountability. His mindset about accountability is the kind that turns your team into toddlers, and you into an overwhelmed parent. You know employees are not children, so why treat them as such?
The dictionary defines accountability as an ability for an individual to account for their actions.
You do not need to hold anyone accountable. Adults hold themselves accountable.
A leader’s role is to lead and create an environment that enables employees to be accountable for their actions and results. I have found four key actions that leaders can take to foster real accountability.
Shift Your Mindset
Accountability is a neutral word until we assign it a value. Too often, accountability is code for engaging in the blame game, manipulation, passive-aggressiveness, or an opportunity to beat someone up. In company cultures where accountability is actually punishment, leaders and employees quickly become disengaged and frustrated – and results suffer.
In highly dysfunctional teams, you generally find that there is either zero accountability or an abundance of leaders “holding employees accountable.”
In contrast, high performing teams generally have leaders who assume positive intent and treat employees as adults. In my experience, nearly all employees genuinely want to do what their boss asks them. If this is not happening it’s likely that there is a misunderstanding or a lack of ability. When we start with this assumption, it enables your team to take personal accountability and positions you as an enabler.
Provide Clarity
As a leader – it’s imperative that you communicate the outcome you are expecting, the approach you want taken on the project, and how you will measure success. Get all of your expectations out up-front. Don’t make your people guess – they’re not mindreaders and just because someone is at a more senior level, doesn’t mean they’re better mind readers. When setting expectations with an employee engage in a back and forth dialogue about the project to ensure alignment.
Skilled employees will have strategies and ideas to share and often anticipate roadblocks that you have not. Ask your employee to summarize the essential details to ensure you are on the same page. Focus on what is important.
Once a project has begun, you may realize that you care more about the specific details than you thought. When this happens, take the time to reset expectations to focus on what matters. Being proactive with this conversation prevents frustration and resentment from taking hold. If you ever find yourself upset with one of your team members, the first thing you should ask is “Have I been as clear about expectations as I need to be?” And then go to them and verify.
Measure Results
For employees to hold themselves accountable and deliver results, they need a way to check their progress. One successful approach is agreeing on regular milestones or interim measures tied to measurable targets. The frequency will depend on the business and position – they could be hourly or monthly milestones. This way, if something slips, action can be taken immediately to course correct early. Your role as a leader is to provide support in helping to identify a fix, brainstorming solutions, or helping remove barriers and provide resources.
Coach to Behaviors
During your regular check-ins with your team (yes, you absolutely need to have them), provide honest and ongoing feedback. Use the agreed-upon metrics as guideposts for your conversations and to identify areas for behavioral change. Identify specific actions and behaviors that will help the employee achieve their goal, and offer praise for good work and suggestions for improvement. Keep in mind that your goal is to help the employee meet or exceed expectations by providing clear insight and offering support.
This conversation will illuminate changes you can make or ways you can help your employees achieve the desired results. You might identify obstacles you can help remove, or barriers to success that you can address personally or with your leadership team as needed.
Fostering a Culture of Accountability
One obstacle that prevents employees from holding themselves accountable is the fear of losing their job or otherwise being punished. Once you embrace the idea that employees cannot be held accountable, you free yourself from the myth that you need to punish poor performance. There may still be occasions where an employee consciously chooses to not follow policies, or work as hard as they need to. These still need to be addressed – but instead of punishing, your role as a leader is to simply administer the natural and agreed-upon consequences. You don’t have to get angry or upset – just mature and objective.
You can then create an environment in which it is okay to make mistakes. One in which a mishap is a learning opportunity and employees have a chance to grow and develop. The most significant positive consequence you can expect from creating a culture of accountability is the trust that you build with individuals and between team members. Not to mention the organization as you and your team become known for delivering results.
Eventually, Mike’s team was able to establish a reputation for high performance. It didn’t happen overnight, and along the way, Mike made mistakes. In choosing to see his employees as adults, he no longer felt required to punish in the name of “holding them accountable.”
