Accountability — The Do’s and Don’ts of Leadership’s North Star

When I was a young lad, and someone mentioned the word “accountability” to me… I would instantly shudder as if someone had said the boogeyman was living underneath my bed.

In my mind, accountability brought baggage with it. Someone is going to yell at me. An awkward conversation will take place. An argument may ensue. In many cases in the modern-day leadership world these same feelings come to the forefront when you think of accountability.

It is time for a new perspective on accountability.

Start with Yourself First

The framework for “accountability done right” begins with these 3 concepts:

· Self-Accountability — Being authentic and genuine in your day-to-day interactions in the workplace and amongst your teams matters. If you are not holding yourself to the same standard that you do others — you lose all credibility, you lose your voice.

· Clear Expectations — It is on you as a leader to be so crystal clear with your expectations that there isn’t a shred of doubt on what the ultimate outcome is that you are looking for. When you do the work to provide clarity; accountability comes naturally.

· Listen & Adjust — the expectations that you set must be fair and reasonable and do not always remain the same, pending circumstance. The definition of empathy is “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another”. The ability to listen with empathy and adapt as needed and keep your expectations clear and concise is invaluable.

All 3 buckets on the surface are very simple — but they are not easy. It can be emotionally draining. It is not a “set it and forget it” template. You have to constantly do the work — day in and day out — to keep your team in a good middle ground of clear and fair expectations. If you do…you will drive belief and trust amongst your team.

Accountability as a Star Player Builder

One of my favorite quotes comes from former Detroit Pistons superstar Joe Dumars. He once said, “On good teams coaches hold players accountable, on great teams players hold players accountable”.

I have seen this quote used by coaches who did not want to do the work to hold themselves accountable, to set clear expectations, to listen with empathy & adjust. They wanted the players to do that work for them.

The concept of players holding players accountable works best if the players themselves have earned that belief and trust with the team. They earn it by being an active participant in each of the 3 buckets outlined above. The coach, as the leader of the team, must ensure that happens first. Players that hold themselves accountable and provide great feedback to help the team improve should be celebrated often. You should celebrate them with clear examples tied to the work they do to be accountable and provide feedback. This helps further drive clear expectations and clarity of what you are looking for in a player.

Accountability as a Star Team Builder

It is imperative that there are multiple players that are taking on this role, it can’t just be one player stepping up…after all, the goal is a great “team” not a great “player”.

When everyone is on the same page — rowing in the same direction with 100% clarity and belief of what is expected of them — it becomes natural for a teammate to step up and get another teammate in line and back on the right track. Nobody wants to be on a boat with a teammate rowing the opposite way. Nobody wants to see their own effort and energy being wasted.

Accountability in the Digital Age

Even after all the work is done to provide a “safe” framework of accountability for your team…in today’s modern world things can quickly go awry if you are not using the right forum.

Too often there can be a reliance on a digital forum (text message, email, Slack, etc.) because it is quick and easy. Guess what? Accountability is rarely done quick and easy in a digital forum. The perception is that digital is easy, in person is difficult — the exact opposite is true.

Why? Because many times a person on the receiving end of being held accountable in a digital form like that can completely miss the point you are trying to make. They can perceive the message based on their current mood, miss your body language, and miss the clear expectations that you are trying to reinforce. Trust and belief begin to erode, and you will quickly find yourself back at square one.

Having that conversation in person leaves no room for false narratives.

In Summary

Accountability, when done right, should be the driving force behind taking your team from good to great. When you hold yourself accountable, set clear expectations, and listen & adjust accordingly…you will drive trust, belief, performance, and results.