Accountability isn’t about punishment – it’s about empowering ownership; having our team’s be personally invested and committed to achieving their goals and supporting the success of the organization.
Here’s how leaders can foster that mindset:
1. Modeling accountability
- According to multiple surveys and research, less than half of Leaders are seen as behaving in a way that promotes accountable behavior in their teams.
- When you lack accountability, it looks like:
- Giving Excuses
- Blaming Others
- Putting Off Important Things
- Doing the Minimum
- Acting Confused
- Playing Helpless
2. Keep your promises
- If you don’t follow through with the things you say you will do, how can you expect that from your team.
3. Ensure clear goals
- Research shows that there is often a disconnect between what the leaders in an organization see as the most important results and what the rest of the organization believes is most important.
- Leaders must ensure understanding across all levels of not only the key organizational objectives but also how these objectives are translated into clear expectations for each department, and then further drilled down so that each individual person understands what their specific role is in achieving the desired organizational results
4. Ensuring the availability of needed resources and abilities
- If you set targets for teams and individuals, ensure that they have the skills and resources needed to be successful.
- You can’t expect your marketing team to improve your SEO ranking if they don’t have access to the right tools and people.
This week, check in with your team, if they are clear about the specific things that they need to do, to help the organization achieve it’s goals.