There is always a lot of talk about accountability in leadership and business development conversations. Many people agree that accountability is a key pillar of team and business success. However, many people also struggle to understand how to make it work for them.
There is a fundamental risk associated with any accountability conversation, and that risk is alienation. I have watched many leaders and business owners alienate their staff or team member at a time when they most need to be building trust and bringing them closer.
When you need to achieve something together as a team, your currency is trust; and your potential to produce results is limited by the boundaries of that trust. The closeness of your relationship must be developed and nurtured if you are to achieve your goals with any level of ambition. Introducing any conversation that damages that trust is counterproductive and this is where leaders often stumble with accountability.
Thankfully, there are easy ways to avoid these common pitfalls.
Pitfall #1 – Attempting to hold someone to account for something that wasn’t clearly committed to
The leader may be very clear what they are expecting, but may not have clearly articulated that and received a firm commitment to it from the other person. It is important to ask for and to get, clear agreement for a certain result or a certain action, by a specified time. It is helpful to follow up with a confirmation email so that there can be no doubt later.
Pitfall #2 – Leaving the person feeling like you think they are lazy, incompetent, or they’ve done something wrong
Language, tone of voice and body language all contribute to the message that gets delivered. When we attempt to hold someone to account, it is important to have a clear intent to empower that person, and to take care in the delivery of the message. This is not the time to allow our frustrations to get the better of us.
Pitfall #3 – Leaving the person feeling embarrassed and diminished by giving them a hard time in front of the rest of the team
This tactic is fraught with danger. You can usually only get away with holding someone to account in front of the rest of the team when you have an extraordinary amount of trust among the entire group, and the accountability conversation leaves the individual and the rest of the group empowered.
Pitfall #4 – Setting your team member up to fail by not establishing milestone reporting and checking in regularly to offer your support and assistance
Sometimes, as leaders, we get busy with our own stuff and inadvertently leave our people to sink or swim. When we are delegating a task or result to someone, we remain accountable for its delivery and success. Setting agreed milestones and getting a milestone report helps to keep the task on track and opens up the opportunity for feedback and adjustments. Depending on the importance, or the size of the challenge, it is important to stay close to our people, and be ready to do whatever it takes to provide support, without taking over.
Trust is the centrepiece of team performance and there is a fine balance that must be achieved to be successful in using accountability for team success. At the same time, accountability is vital, so it pays to refine your approach to ensure trust and relationship are not only preserved, but also deepened and strengthened through the process.
