Beyond Accountability: 5 Ways to Confront Lack of Follow Through
The expression “holding people accountable” smells like roadkill in July. Usually, it means pressuring people to do things they don’t want to do. But what else can you do when people don’t follow through?
Being human is disquieting when treating people like annoyances.
Tolerance:
Follow through honors potential. Tolerance and excellence don’t co-exist.
Response to failure sets standards.
Defiance – the rejection of ease – establishes expectations.
5 ways to confront lack of follow through:
#1. Bring it up.
Patterns are destiny. Say something before habits solidify.
It’s harder to bring up small issues than painful patterns.
“I notice this is the second time we’re talking about the same missed goal.”
“It’s unusual for you to not do what you say you’ll do. What’s going on for you?”
#2. Clarify.
Discuss commitments.
“I’m curious if we misunderstood each other. This is what I heard when we set this goal…. What did you hear?”
#3. Choose big rocks.
Practice the “big rock” principle. What’s the one priority task you must complete?
Don’t assign busy work.
Everything isn’t a priority.
#4. Ask questions.
“How important is this to you on a scale of 1:10.”
“What got in the way?”
“When did you notice this wasn’t getting done? What did you do?”
“What could you do differently next time?”
“How can I be helpful in the future?”
#5. Own it.
Recurring failure is management’s responsibility. Don’t blame employees.
Ask yourself the questions you want to ask others. (See #4 above.)
Did you let things slide to the point of painful irritation?
Bonus:
Reflect on individual and organizational factors when practicing accountability.
Individual factors impact follow through.
- Competence.
- Motivation.
- Mindset.
- Values.
- Experience.
Organizational factors impact follow through.
- Clarity.
- Culture.
- Workload.
- Resources.
What are some useful ways to respond to lack of follow through?
Still curious:
Develop a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP):
Sample Performance Improvement Plan Template (uca.edu)
Performance-Improvement-Plan-Template-Updated.docx (live.com)
What are some useful ways to respond to lack of follow through?
Explain the consequences of late or incomplete work. One consequence is the person’s reputation and credibility takes a hit.
Thanks, Paul. Reflecting on personal consequences can help people take things seriously. Thanks for adding your insight, again.
Absolutely agree. Would love any extra suggestions if this is YOUR supervisor and not a colleague or someone you supervise.
Same as any approach to managing up: use the same approach as when dealing with colleagues or those you supervise but with a little more tact and focus on how you can help them.
“Hey, Supervisor, at our meeting the other day, you mentioned you were going to do X. Today, I noticed you haven’t gotten X done yet. I know you have a lot on your plate. And sometimes priorities change around here. Is X still on your to-do list? If so, what one thing can I do to help you get X done?”
Clay Scroggins wrote a helpful book “How to Lead when you’re Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence when you Lack Authority”, which somewhat addresses this. It’s hard to find good resources on how to be a good follower, other than the Bible.
This certainly resonated with me this week due to a staff member. I appreciate the questions in this piece as they were direct and to the point in receiving an answer.
Setting expectations and being clear what those expectations are and confirming the party on the receiving end of it, understands clearly as well to prevent any confusion or frustration later. The PIP is helpful as it’s also used as a tool to fall back on when recollecting the agreement between parties. Thank you, Dan! Happy 4th!