Accountability Is Not a Bad Thing

I realize that many of us cringe whenever we hear the word accountability.

We hear it and think:

  • What does he mean?
  • Is she auditing my work?
  • Does this mean I’m not doing well?
  • Am I about to get a whole lot more work to do?

Accountability is not, nor should it be, a bad thing. However, in my experience, many people take it that way. It’s your job as a team leader to instill accountability in your teams so that they realize it’s just a way to benchmark their accomplishments. Now…doesn’t that sound better?

Well, to use oft quotes phrase, that “says easy, does hard.” Many employees fear being held accountable because so much of the time, managers use this as a cloak for their real purpose: reprimand. Don’t do that!

Your team wants to know how it is doing collectively and each individual wants to where they stand based on goals. So, a question to ask them all is, “What must we do differently to achieve the goals we set forth in January?” When you set the table with that question, it allows everyone to feel a part of moving things forward. Had you asked, “Why haven’t we accomplished our goals?” that put everyone in defense mode. And as you likely know, it’s hard to get anything positive to happen when people are guarded against new ideas.

So, here are a few steps I recommend you use to influence your team in such a way that they realize the ownership they have in the overall goals:

Step #1: Commit to making it healthy and FUN

Step #2: Reread Step #1

Step #3: Meet with each person separately and ask them what they’d like to strengthen.

Step#4: Together, determine the credentialing projects that will yield this development. Here’s the secret to making it fun: You both commit to these credentialing projects together. This shows the direct report that they are not alone in this journey. It tells them you’re there to cheer them on and adjust/correct them when you see them going off-purpose.

Step#5: Measure Success. This accountability step measures the achievement of these credentialing projects once a week and at the end of every month. The idea is to celebrate what’s been achieved and mutually determine the next step in the achievement process. Do this and each person will feel a responsibility towards the goals the team, as a whole, is working to achieve.

Oh…and one last tip…the more positive you are, the more engaged and committed your direct report will be. Make sure you openly acknowledge hard work and dedication. Sure, maybe the results weren’t there but you can work on that. What you are trying to do is instill responsibility and accountabiliity. After that, the results will come!