4 Reasons Why Accountability isn't Working

4 Reasons Why Accountability isn't Working

While holding people accountable and creating a culture of peer accountability is a great strategy, it’s not highly effective for most leaders.

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This culture of accountability mostly comes from good intentions, but without the right roots in place, it won’t produce the results you wish to see.

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Let’s look at 4 reasons why accountability might not be working for you:

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1. Alignment is Weak or Nonexistent

I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have a set list of core values. THIS IS ESSENTIAL. If you have nothing to base your leadership around, then your “accountability” carries no validity. But when everyone is aware of a shared list of values, you can point people right back to where you want them to be.

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2. Modeling is Inconsistent

John Maxwell said “People do what people see,” and he’s absolutely right. You can’t behave one way and hope to hold people to a different standard. Start with you. Hold yourself accountable and it will make it 10x easier to influence others.

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3. Coaching is Poorly Executed

An end-of-the-year review or quick quarterly rounding conversation is not coaching. Holding people accountable is difficult if they aren’t receiving frequent and consistent guidance. Increase the frequency of your coaching sessions and you will have to rely less on strict accountability.

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4. Striving for Fairness, not Equity

This isn’t about picking favorites. This is about treating people differently based on their unique situation. New employees require different treatment than veteran employees. Different departments and personalities don’t all respond the same way to your accountability strategy. You need to be intentional in how you interact with different individuals to get the most effective response out of them.

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I’ll say it again, accountability is a good thing, but it isn’t going to be effective if you’re missing the mark in these 4 areas.

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Align your leadership around core values, be consistent in your modeling, execute consistent coaching, and strive for equity rather than fairness.

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For more on what it takes to improve accountability in your workplace, check out this week’s episode of the Lead Up Podcast: 4 Reasons Why Accountability isn’t Working.?


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James Bolden

System Director - Pathology Services

7 个月

In July 1961, Vince Lombardi kicked off the first day of Green Bay Packer training camp following a season that ended in a heartbreaking loss in the NFL Championship Game. When the players came in to start training camp, Coach Lombardi sat the team down, held up a football and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football!” He then had them open up their playbooks and start on page one, where they began to learn the fundamentals – blocking, tackling, throwing, catching, etc.? Mike’s great article reminds us that creating a culture of peer accountability involves adhering to the fundamentals: alignment of core values; modeling the behaviors we want to see; providing feedback; and striving for fairness. To win consistently, we must stick to the fundamentals.?

David Muns, MPH, FACHE

Executive Leader / Healthcare Operations Consultant / Speaker / U.S. Air Force Retired

8 个月

These are four great practical items any leader can engage. You can work on the items individually or as a whole depending on where your organization is on its journey.

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