Comments on: Why Accountability Is Hard And How to Make It Easier https://gregharrod.com/why-accountability-is-hard-and-how-to-make-it-easier/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-accountability-is-hard-and-how-to-make-it-easier Business Coach & Strategic Communications Partner Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:00:39 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 By: Greg Harrod https://gregharrod.com/why-accountability-is-hard-and-how-to-make-it-easier/#comment-46 Mon, 07 Sep 2020 15:17:12 +0000 https://gregharrod.com/?p=1208#comment-46 In reply to DAVID JANUS.

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

]]> By: DAVID JANUS https://gregharrod.com/why-accountability-is-hard-and-how-to-make-it-easier/#comment-45 Mon, 07 Sep 2020 14:14:13 +0000 https://gregharrod.com/?p=1208#comment-45 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

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