One of the most important questions you’ll ever ask of someone – whether posed outright to the person or asked silently in your head and pondered in your heart – is, “Can I count on you?”
High-performing organizations are built on a foundation of trust.
Colleagues count on each other to do the things they promise to do. Accountability is doing what you said you would do in the timeframe you agreed to do it.
If your organization’s performance is not meeting your expectations, it’s time to do something about accountability. Before I share four steps you can take toward accountability, consider answering these three questions.
3 Questions to rate your organization’s accountability
If you'd like to participate in a quick survey of leaders I’m conducting, simply reply to this email answering the following three questions. I'll aggregate the responses – don’t worry, no names – and share the findings with you in next month’s bulletin.
- On a scale of 1 – 10 (10=high), how would you rate your organization’s effectiveness at holding people accountable for meeting the goals in their plan?
- On the same scale, how do you rate yourself?
- What’s your biggest obstacle to effectively holding people accountable?
I appreciate your participation in answering these questions. Again, look for an aggregate report next month.
4 Steps Toward Accountability
Assuming the idea of a smoother-running, more profitable company is important to you, consider taking these four steps that separate high-performing companies from the pack:
- Commit to putting a plan to paper. Carve out time to prepare your company for its self-improvement initiative. I know – this is time that you don’t really have. But in high-performing organizations, everyone knows what’s expected of them. So isn’t an investment of two days of your leadership team’s time worth the monthly return of improved performance? In my book Lead The Way, I provide a step-by-step approach to developing an effective plan in two days, and you can read what CEOs say about the results.
- Involve your team. View planning as trust-building. I’ve heard leaders boast that they can develop a plan in an hour. They probably can. But in most cases, the planning process is vital for your colleagues. A realistic workable plan is half brain, half heart. Give your leaders the opportunity to shape the plan so they’ll believe in it.
- Hold regular accountability meetings. Involvement is the first step toward developing a meaningful plan. Commitment is the next step. Remember the bacon-and-eggs breakfast? The chicken was involved but the pig was committed. The planning process should encourage debate and dialogue, which will lead to better decisions, which will lead to commitment, which drives accountability, which produces better results. Once you’ve developed your plan, hold regular accountability meetings to review progress. Are your colleagues involved chickens or committed leaders? You’ll find out quickly in your accountability meetings.
- Deliver tough love. When you have the right leaders on your team, they will help you drive accountability. Most people don’t want to disappoint their peers. You’ll know you’re developing a culture of accountability in your organization when the problem-solving, encouragement and support comes from a colleague who wants to help a peer who’s struggling. But when occasional shortfalls become a pattern of under-performance and colleagues can no longer count on a peer to keep their commitment, it’s time to deliver tough love. Not sure what that looks like? Consider my 1-day accountability workshop that’s loaded with exercises, tools and tips for delivering the tough conversation.
It’s time to get moving on your accountability plan.
Your best employees are counting on you.■
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