If you’re an experienced leader, you may disagree with my statement that accountability is hard.
You may believe accountability is actually simple. Just do these three things.
- Set the right goals.
- Establish metrics to track progress toward those goals.
- Regularly review progress and results with the team.
What’s so hard about that?
I suppose you’re right if you’re only talking about holding a team accountable to meet performance goals. But, that’s not what I’m talking about when I say accountability is hard.
I’m referring to an accountability that is far more important to your team than a “did you hit your numbers?” type of performance-based accountability.
The accountability I’m envisioning is more advanced. It’s more meaningful in an organization. And, it is definitely hard.
But if you are a leader who wants to do more with your teams than just deliver performance results (and I know you are if you’re reading this blog), then let me share some resources to help make even this hard accountability much, much easier.
Before we get to those resources, let’s make sure we’re on the same page on the type of accountability I’m describing.
Accountability for more than just performance
If you read my post, “Want To Be A Kind And Confident Leader? Deliver Results.“, you know I believe leaders and teams must perform.
Great teams achieve their goals. It’s as simple as that. Teams and leaders who don’t deliver the results they commit to deliver don’t survive.
But, if accountability was limited only to ensuring teams meet performance goals, it wouldn’t be all that difficult.
Organizational health expert and best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, writes this in his book, The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business [affiliate link].
Even the most reluctant, fearful leader can usually summon the courage to tell someone that he missed his number. That is a relatively objective, nonjudgmental act, which makes it safe and free from emotion. Confronting someone about their behavior is a different matter. It involves a judgment call that is more likely to provoke a defensive response.
Patrick Lencioni
Lencioni is not discounting the need for accountability regarding performance and delivering results. Not at all.
In fact, he describes accountability as a building block for achieving results.
Lencioni depicts it this way in his classic The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable [affiliate link].
You can read more on the Five Dysfunctions model in this highly valuable (and free) downloadable summary on his website.
Accountability for both performance and behavior is required for healthy, high performing teams.
When behavior is involved, people are involved. And, when people are a part of the equation, things typically aren’t easy.
Why accountability is hard
Accountability is personal and uncomfortable
Accountability involves human interaction. It requires dialogue between two people. A personal relationship is necessarily a part of talking to someone else about keeping their commitments.
Let’s be honest. Sometimes discussions about how we have not lived up to our commitments can be difficult.
Wait. Strike that. Let me try again.
Discussions about how we have not lived up to our commitments are always difficult.
That’s true for me at least.
It doesn’t matter if I’m the one holding a teammate accountable or I’m being held accountable. I am not going to be comfortable.
And, in my discomfort I might not behave as I should.
As Patrick Lencioni stated in the quote above, people can get defensive when confronted. That’s true of other people and it’s true of me. I expect it’s true of you too. It’s a reality of our human nature.
I like this quote from Jonathan Raymond, author of the book, Good Authority: How to Become the Leader Your Team Is Waiting For [affiliate link].
He said this in the Coaching for Leaders with Dave Stachowiak podcast, “How to Balance Care and Accountability When Leading Virtually, with Jonathan Raymond“.
You can be kind and still be direct. You can manage performance and still be deeply human. In fact, you can’t manage performance in the modern world without being deeply human.
Jonathan Raymond
As human beings, as people, we have emotions and feelings. We can’t and we shouldn’t disconnect from our emotions in our team environments.
So, how do we apply wisdom and emotional intelligence when engaging in accountability conversations? More on that in a moment.
First, let’s consider some other factors that make accountability hard.
Accountability is risky
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of risk taking. I’m learning this skill, but I’m not a risk taker by nature.
Many leaders are in the same position. Taking risks is scary. Even for those who are natural risk takers the act of taking a risk requires courage.
If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a risk.
Calling something “risky” means there is a potential loss.
To get what you desire, you must be willing to take the chance you will lose something you already have.
In fact, my friends at The Kansas Leadership Center include in their leadership principles the simple statement “It’s risky.” I completely agree.
If you want to be a kind and confident leader, you have to take risks.
Accountability is hard because it involves risk in our personal relationships.
In another section of The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business [affiliate link], Lencioni makes this powerful statement.
To hold someone accountable is to care about them enough to risk having them blame you for pointing out their deficiencies.
Patrick Lencioni
He even goes on to describe a person who fails to hold others accountable not as kind, but rather, as selfish.
When we don’t hold someone else accountable because we are more concerned about what we might lose in our relationship with that person or how we will feel uncomfortable talking to them, we are not serving them. We are protecting ourselves.
Again, accountability is hard. It’s hard because it involves risk.
Accountability is hard for countless other reasons
I’ve described a few reasons accountability is hard for leaders and for teams. I could go on and on. And, I bet you could too.
We could talk about how holding another person accountable to behave properly requires us to be vulnerable ourselves. And, being vulnerable is never easy is it?
Or, we could discuss how being kind as a leader and a team member requires us to be patient as our team members process and apply what we share with them. Waiting and being patient are not on my list of things that come easy to me.
But, by now you are probably ready to hear how this hard accountability can be easier.
For that, I want to introduce you to an expert on the topic.
How hard accountability can be easier
Before I make the introduction, I have a disclaimer. This part of the post is really going to be a self-study exercise.
I am going to point you to some resources I’ve only recently discovered but can’t wait any longer to share with you. This content is just too valuable for anyone who wants to lead others with kindness and confidence. You need to know about it.
In a future post I will add more of my own thoughts and content on this topic, but I don’t want to wait to get that done. This content is just too good to keep to myself.
Introducing Jonathan Raymond
So, it is possible that all of you have heard of Jonathan Raymond.
I quoted him earlier and you may have instantly recognized the name. I may be the only one who has been under the proverbial rock.
If so, forgive me. And humor me too please. Because I’m going to keep writing under the assumption I’m not alone.
If you haven’t heard of Jonathan Raymond and want to be a kind and confident leader, prepare to be encouraged and inspired.
His approach to leadership and his content resonates with me and I expect you will appreciate it as well.
Like I said, this section is self-study so I’m going to point you to his resources and you can take it from there for now.
Jonathan Raymond resources I think you’ll love
If I know my audience, you are going to want to schedule time to dig into each of these resources.
I’ve collected a variety so you can start with what works best for you and move to the others as you like.
Coaching for Leaders Podcast Episodes
This 38 minute podcast episode of the Coaching for Leaders with Dave Stachowiak podcast, “How to Balance Care and Accountability When Leading Virtually, with Jonathan Raymond” was my first introduction to Jonathan and his material.
Of course the title caught my attention given my focus on teaching leaders to lead with kindness and confidence.
After just a few minutes of listening as I was walking my dogs, I knew I had found a thought leader I wanted to learn from. I was hooked.
By the way, I just recently started listening to the Coaching for Leaders with Dave Stachowiak podcast after learning about it through an episode of Smart Passive Income with Pat Flynn. I recommend both of these podcasts as well. (Have I mentioned I like podcasts?)
Jonathan was also a guest on an earlier episode of Coaching for Leaders with Dave Stachowiak podcast. I haven’t listened to “Five Steps to Hold People Accountable, with Jonathan Raymond” but I expect it is equally valuable.
The Accountability Dial Resources and website
In the podcast episodes Jonathan describes a framework called “The Accountability Dial”. This is an outstanding tool I’m learning and will apply with my teams.
You can learn more about The Accountability Dial on the Refound website. Jonathan is the founder and CEO of Refound. The site is packed with useful resources to equip you to lead with kindness and confidence.
You can also download a free pdf guide describing the Accountability Dial from the Refound website.
The article, “Do You Understand What Accountability Really Means?” by Jonathan in the Harvard Business Review is a beneficial quick read as well.
Videos on The Accountability Dial
If you prefer video over audio, this 31 minute video is what you’re looking for.
Grab a notebook to ensure you capture all the wisdom Jonathan shares.
Jonathan’s Book – Good Authority: How to Become the Leader Your Team Is Waiting For
Before I finished the podcasts and the video, I knew I needed a copy of Jonathan’s book. I expect you’ll have the same reaction.
I downloaded the audio book first and was pleased to hear it read by the author.
And, for me, an audio book purchase of a great book almost always leads to a follow up purchase of a hard copy [affiliate link]. I want a copy in my hands so I can study and take notes.
That was definitely the case with Jonathan’s book.
You can order your audio book or get your paper copy of Good Authority: How to Become the Leader Your Team Is Waiting For with these affiliate links.
Accountability is hard but easier than you think
I made the case that accountability is hard, especially accountability that includes both performance and behaviors. But, through great authors and leaders like Patrick Lencioni and Jonathan Raymond, we can also see it’s not only worth the effort but it’s easier than we think.
When we’re willing to do the hard work to truly care for our teammates, when we seek their best and wait patiently for them to learn and grow, we will see them thrive through caring accountability.
This is a goal worth pursuing with energy and passion as we strive to lead with kindness and confidence.
Let’s do something great.
Greg
Discussion Questions
- How do your views of accountability compare with the perspectives described in this post? Do they match or do they differ?
I encourage healthy and respectful dialogue in the comments even if your views differ from mine. Please share your perspective so we can learn together.
Hey Greg,
I’d like to offer you some other insights about accountability.
When accountability is driven solely by the “leader” (i.e., supervisor, team lead, team head, department manager, etc. and on up) you risk the adherence being tied to that person. That person leaves, enter new person and new accountability environment.
In order to truly change a culture, the associates have to own the culture which means they have to own the accountability aspect too. Meaning, accountability cannot be solely driven by people in positions of authority, etc. You know the KLC jargon.
Further, the goals and objectives over a year, quarter, month time frame consist of thousands of smaller tasks and interactions that must also work well to add up to the main goals and objectives.
Therefore, I found that having teammates create MAPs was very powerful and instilled a sense of ownership as well as serving as virtually a daily check up on their activities. MAP stands for a Mutual Accountability Plan; it’s what you and I agree to do this month (week, quarter, year…) that will contribute toward the big goals and objectives. rather than leaving the important components to chance we agree to do them then hold each other accountable. You’ll likely have 5-10 MAPs with other co-workers. When you hold yourself AND others accountable separate from “the boss” we now are beginning to own the culture…and the inputs, the process and the outcomes.
I think of it this way: The big guys at HQ tell you WHERE to get to (your goals) but they don’t tell you HOW to get there (your daily work) so in order to get to your destination we need a MAP! AND…your MAP will serve as your roadmap to progress. Lastly, the supervisor (et al) likely has a check in with their direct reports each week or so. What could be more pointed than reviewing the MAPs of your team to see what they’ve agreed to do, what they did, what they didn’t (and why) and what’s working and what’s not? You get to see their level of team work by their own reports.
All the best, my friend.
Dave
Wow, Dave. Thank you so much for sharing your insight as well as practical actions teams can implement. This is great input.
I completely agree with you the idea of team members owning the culture. I happened to have Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Advantage open in front of me and I looked down and saw the section on Peer Pressure. He writes “peer-to-peer accountability is the primary and most effective source of accountability on the leadership team of a healthy organization.” It reminds me of the concept of a “player led team” in sports and the success that brings.
Thanks too for sharing the MAP idea. This is simple and I can see it being very effective as you described.
Greg