Now that we talked about the importance of accountability and why it is not happening, let’s jump into creating a process that fosters excellent accountability.
When leaders can put some of these structures in place, they can nurture an accountable culture. Here are some steps to consider:
1. Clear Expectations. The first step is to have a meeting to be crystal clear about your expectations — the desired results you’re seeking, the capabilities needed for the job, how you’ll measure success, and what standard you seek. It does not all have to come from you. The more skilled your people are, the more ideas and strategies they can contribute. They should have the autonomy to determine the HOW in achieving their objectives. When you have a genuine two-way conversation about ways to contribute and tactics that they are considering, you will create the necessary buy-in and build confidence in tackling the project. Before the meeting’s end, you can learn if you are on the same page by asking the other person to summarize the critical pieces - results, capabilities to be successful, metrics, and approaches to reinforce that alignment.
A. Clear outcomes. What are the outcomes to be produced? While the employee has the autonomy to figure out how they will achieve results, it is vital to specify a general destination and set the standard of excellence so they have the example. If I tell you to put together a presentation and do not explain some requirements such as length of time and critical aspects, your understanding of a presentation can be vastly different from the other mine. Let’s talk about the parameters to mitigate any confusion.
B. Clear capability. Be sure that the person you are holding accountable has the skills and resources they will need otherwise they might be set up for failure. You can ask yourself, what do they need to meet the expectations? If the person does not have what’s necessary, can they acquire what’s missing? If so, what’s the plan? If not, how can they delegate parts of the work?
Here are some helpful questions to ask to create active effort (certainty on how to move forward) rather than anxious effort (uncertainty which morphs into procrastination).
· What do you see yourself needing to do to be able to achieve the result?
· What could get in the way? Excuses can be helpful signs; once surfaced, they can now be included in the roadmap. You can offer a follow-up – “Given what's in the way, what’s possible or what else can be done?”
· Where are the first 1-3 places to begin?
C. Clear measurement. During the expectation conversation, you should agree on weekly (or whatever cadence works best) milestones with clear, measurable, objective targets. If any of these targets slip, jump on it immediately, brainstorm a solution, identify a fix, redesign the timeline, or respond in other productive ways that get the person back on track. Nothing frustrates leaders more than being surprised by failure to meet expectations in the 11th hour. Sometimes this failure is due to premature optimism on both sides, or the direct report is reluctant to ask for help. Either way, it can be avoided or mitigated with clear and transparent communication.
2. Clear feedback. In one of your first feedback meetings, you can ask them how they like to receive feedback and consider their preferences. Honest, open, ongoing feedback is critical to their development, and just because you have said something once, does not mean you are done; good feedback should be continuous and reinforced. People should know where they stand. You can ask yourself, is the person delivering on their commitments? Are they working well with other stakeholders? If they need to increase their capability, are they on track? When you have clear expectations, capabilities, and measurements, your input will most likely be fact-based and easier to deliver. The feedback can also go both ways — is there something you can be doing to be more helpful?
Co-Founder of Pixar Ed Catmull said feedback should always leave an employee inspired. Ask questions that start with what or how, such as:
· What will you have to do to have this done on time (rather than, do you expect to have this done on time)?
· What ideas do you have (rather than do you have any ideas)?
· What do you want to do next regarding your objective?
· When this happens, what do you want to happen next?
· How will you keep yourself and the project accountable for what you want?
· How will we accomplish X by this date with only Z resources available to us? (instead of jumping in and helping, let them take a first crack at solving the problem).
· I need your help, when you miss meetings frequently [insert behavior], I feel/think/wonder that you are not committed to the position. Could I have some clarity on this? What would it take for you to be at the meetings? In the future, I expect you to be at the meetings because your input is essential. What do you see getting in the way of this expectation? What’s needed to meet it?
Undergirding all these questions is genuine care, trust, and support. You should let the person know that feedback is about providing supportive accountability, not in remediating problematic behaviors or surveillance. It is meant to accelerate their behavior through continued conversations so they can do hard work, think, learn, grow, and contribute. When employees believe their bosses are interested in their success, they feel less guarded and less inclined to hide their underperformance. If you have not built that trust or if the feedback is not sincere, it will not work. When the trust is there, people will be open to sharing failures that can be addressed at the moment because they are learning opportunities and not mistakes to be covered up. When people feel criticized or attack or when there is fear, they will shut down and it will be a culture of psychological danger.
When the job is done, you can ask them to walk you through how they did their work to engender pride. You can learn about the parts they struggled with and the parts in which they were incredibly satisfied. Other good questions to ask:
· What did you learn?
· What are you most proud of?
· What aspect do you want to carry forward to your next project?
3. Clear consequences. How would they like to be held accountable so you can cater to their style within limits? This is important because you can use the same approach with different people, and one person could be embarrassed while the other empowered. When you know your people’s preferences, you can better support them.
4. Model accountability by going first. A great way to create a culture of accountability and enhance psychological safety is to share that accountability travels both ways. While you will hold your direct report accountable for their work, you expect that they will hold you to it as well. If we want to be the best we can be, we have to have high standards and when they are not reached, we want to address them, so we know what to do better and differently next time. You can share the standards you have for yourself and when they notice you have not met them, your expectation is that they are going to tell you where you have fallen short so you can learn and grow together. It is not about criticizing in public, but constructively addressing the issue in private. When the leader goes first it emphasizes the importance of promoting a culture of ownership.
5. Address challenges that could surface at the beginning. You can share that when a promise of delivery is made, there is an expectation that it will be done. If something comes up that compromises the timeline, it is essential to bring it up. I’d rather know about a situation days or weeks before the big meeting so there is enough time to come up with creative solutions or workarounds or bring in support than to learn 5 minutes before the meeting with no opportunity to remedy the situation. The damage to the relationship is most severe when people wait too long to bring up an issue because they do not want to disappoint the person or they have a hard time with tough conversations. Delays do happen, Author Kim Scott shared that when writing her book Radical Candor, she thought it would take 3 months, but it ended up taking 4 years but she was able to keep the trust in line because she was always upfront about shifting timelines.
If you are reasonably sure that you were clear with expectations and did what was necessary to support their performance, and they still have not proven to be accountable, in that case, they may not be a good fit for the role and could lead to a change (in position, teams, or in the company) that would create more of a win-win.
Setting up a process of accountability, including clear expectations, feedback, and consequences can empower others to take responsibility.
Q: What is your system for holding others accountable? Comment and share below; we would love to hear from you!
Quotes of the day: "Leaders inspire accountability through their ability to accept responsibility before they place blame." ― Courtney Lynch
"Responsibility equals accountability equals ownership. And a sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon a team or organization can have." -Pat Summitt
[The next blog in this series 3/3 will focus on having an effective accountability conversation]
As a Leadership and Executive Coach, I partner with others to help with all kinds of accountability, contact me to learn more.
It all begins with clear expectations