Reject Backwards Accountability
Accountability is an agreement you own. It’s not a conversation you dread.
Accountability starts before the work begins. Don’t wait for failure. Prevent it.
Energize people with clarity, challenge, and support. Don’t beat them down after they screw up.
Build Accountability Before You Need It
#1. Negotiate the finish line.
“Do your best” is encouragement, not an expectation.
Responsibility requires clarity.
Describe the finish line. Ask:
- “What would success look like to you?”
- “What deadline is realistic?”
- “What could get in the way?”
- “What support do you need from me?”
Discuss the differences. Agree on three things together. What will be done? What’s the standard? What’s the timeline?
#2. Agree on ownership.
A team can do the work. But who is the champion of follow-through?
Ask two questions: “Who will notice if this starts to slip? Who will bring it up?”
Shared effort gets stuff done. But a project without a champion yields disappointment.
#3. Track progress while there’s time to adapt.
Don’t wait until the finish line to discover a crisis. Schedule check-ins.
Ask three questions:
- “What’s on track?”
- “What’s stuck?”
- “What needs to change this week?”
A check-in provides a chance to course-correct before the finish line.
#4. A missed agreement requires a new agreement.
Review the facts. Ask what happened. Is the issue effort, skill, priorities, or resources?
Ask three questions:
- “What will you do differently?”
- “What do you need from me or others?”
- “When will we review progress?”
Keep notes to avoid confusion.
Coercion isn’t accountability. Following through is.
Keeping commitments begins with a clear agreement. It thrives on check-ins. It’s credible when everyone keeps their commitments, especially the leader.
Accountability is bullying until there’s a shared agreement.
What accountability practices work for you?
Mastering Accountability – Leadership Freak
This post draws on ideas from John Baird & Matt Hunter’s, new book TOUGH ENOUGH: How to Lead a Team to Greatness Without Being a Jerk
A good interesting write-up with reality checks to ensure the well spelt out success. It’s a responsibility of leader to encourage the team members with perodic checks and the required guidance to achieve the set goals. If handled well, it’s a step forward to the planned organization progress
& success.
Thanks Dr Asher. The attitude of the leader matters. Are they committed to the success of others.
I really like these questions that accompany each step. People feel micromanaged if they are not part of the agreement. Once there is an agreement in place, then accountability is the expectation.
Thanks Allyson. Powerful insight. Ownership elevates engagement.
I’m so interested in the differences between “responsibility” and “accountability.” There’s a Shane Parrish explanation that “when someone tells you to do something, you’re accountable. When you choose to do something, you’re responsible.” Then there’s the quantitiatve (account) and the qualitative (respond) difference. Would love to hear more of your thoughts on each.
Thanks for sharing your insights. I’ll think about this. One thing comes to mind. In an organization our jobs come with assigned responsibilities. I suppose we could assume these are chosen if we take the job. But that isn’t always true. Best
I so appreciate this plan as it communicates accountability from the leader, via check ins and just paying attention throughout…rather just at the end. Following this plan takes (and forms!) a team…(including the leadership).
Hello again, Brian. The thing that speaks to me is it forms the leader too. Accountability is a two way street.
“Accountability starts before the work begins. “Don’t wait for failure. Prevent it.” is the best takeaway from this write-up
Thanks Khalid.
Dan, great post here. Thanks! What I’m hearing is trusting relationships. As my friend Bill Thrall says; Trust is the #1 key in leadership.
So true. It’s hard to get off the ground when distrust is high. We have to believe in each other. We have to believe the other person is seeking my best interest.