Accountability Is About Empowerment – Not Control

Effective leaders understand that a critically important aspect of building team trust and high-performance is establishing a culture of accountability. Unfortunately, the concept of accountability often has a negative connotation because people feel like they will be judged negatively if they fall short of expectations. The truth is that a healthy culture of accountability is essential for team members to have high levels of motivation, mutual trust and performance. Below are 4 Leadership Practices for developing a healthy culture of accountability.  

1.     People First

A leader’s best strategy is to have a group of people who can adapt to and deliver results no matter what changes or challenges are presented. Successful accountability is not possible without team members who are equipped with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes for success.

Leaders need to focus their effort on building teams that have members who are Capable, Engaged, and Connected. Individuals who demonstrate these three attributes have the most influence on the important team outcomes of productivity, low turnover, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

Capable

• Use their strengths every day
• Consistent levels of high performance
• Natural innovation and drive for efficiency

Engaged

• High energy and enthusiasm
• Broaden what they do and build on it
• Clear about desired outcomes of their role

Connected

• Intentional building of supportive relationships
• Emotionally committed to what they do
• Show commitment to organization, work group, and role

2.     Clear Team Goals and Roles

It is the leader’s responsibility to create a foundation for individual and team success which starts with creating an environment where employees have clear and aligned goals and roles. The importance of effective goals and role clarity is the foundation for creating an environment that supports accountability, performance and mutual trust.

Goals – Team goals and priorities give direction to a team, allowing them to understand where they are now, to define where they want to go and to unite each individual effort in getting there. Common goals are what make a team a team.

Roles - Clarity and agreement of team member’s authority, responsibilities, and tasks that are needed for the team to effectively deliver on their goals. Each team member should have a clear picture of who is doing what, who is responsible for what, and the extent of their authority.

3.     Shared Problem-Solving

Accountability is about empowerment – not control. Empowerment begins with including the team in the problem-solving process. A team’s collective success will be defined by their ability to identify and resolve ongoing issues that continually arise. A clearly defined approach to problem-solving enables the team to develop collective habits to work together to successfully resolve issues.

Shared problem-solving, in relation to achieving the teams most important goals, should be the central component of a team’s recurring meeting process. Too often a team’s time together is primarily spent on sharing general updates, that could be shared electronically, which creates a dynamic where people feel the need to justify how their time has been spent since the last meeting. Below are best practices for teams that excel with inclusive problem-solving.

• A clearly defined process and time for the team to resolve issues and solve problems.
• Issues are prioritized before the problem-solving starts - It’s vital to solve the most critical issues first to ensure the bulk of the team’s time is not focused on less important matters.
• A clear expectation that everyone’s input is valued and expected when working through team issues.

4.     Explicit Agreements About Next Steps

There is nothing more frustrating for leaders and their teams than to engage in a great problem-solving conversation where there is team alignment on the issue, perspectives are shared, effective solutions are provided and then - nothing happens. No action, no improvement, no positive advancements for resolving the issue.

It is the leader’s role to create a culture of action and accountability within the team. This is accomplished through creating a shared plan for future action, agreements about who is accountable for completing the defined actions, and clarifying how the team will hold each other accountable.

Below are some questions that help leaders define accountability for action.

• What are the next steps?
• Who is responsible for these actions?
• When will these actions be completed?
• How will we communicate/update about progress?

Being deliberate about keeping a” To Do” list can help keep track of the commitments that were made in previous conversations. If something hasn’t been completed, it is an opportunity to assess potential barriers, resolve issues, and learn how to move forward more effectively.

These 4 Practices will help leaders create a culture of accountability that enables strong relationships and excellent results.

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About the Author: Tony Gambill is the CEO of ClearView Leadership, an innovative leadership and talent development consulting firm helping executives and managers bring their best leadership self to their most challenging situations.