Leadership in Action: Accountability Commitment Challenge

The other day, I was speaking to a manager that both the lead and lag indicators of one of his teams are adverse, due to many of the daily basic routines not being consistently performed. He told me ‘Sir, I keep telling the same to the team and they just don’t get it. They are not kids; they must take care of these basics by themselves. I keep asking them what their problem is, and they don’t share their challenges’.

Was the manager demonstrating accountability? How would you define his leadership style? How committed would the team be for such a manager? What can the manager of such a manager do? How can the HR department contribute? How can a mentor/coach like me, handle this situation?

In this blog I will share my answers to these questions.

Accountability: Managerial accountability to outcomes and results in organizations involves setting clear goals, allocating resources effectively, monitoring progress regularly, and fostering a culture of transparency and collective responsibility to drive organizational success, by taking full ownership to the outcomes and results. I believe when we point fingers, one finger, the index finger, is pointed to the other person or people, the thumb to the divine power and three fingers to the one pointing the fingers. The statement of this manager surely does not demonstrate accountability.

Leadership Style: The laissez-faire leadership takes a hands-off approach to leadership and gives others the freedom to make decisions and avoids telling the team how to solve the problem, allowing them to sort it out for themselves. While this manager intended a laissez-faire leadership style, the resources, and tools they need to succeed were probably not provided proactively by the manager. I remember one of my best bosses, a German, used to tell me ‘Dinakar, leadership is all about serving your team with everything they need to succeed and then monitoring and demanding results consistently’. The statement of this manager surely demonstrated his intention not to micromanage, but also demonstrated his unwillingness to proactively understand and solve the team’s problems, a primary personal task of any manager.

Team Commitment: The commitment of a team is driven by several factors, with leadership playing a pivotal role. Effective leadership that inspires trust, communicates a clear vision, and demonstrates genuine concern for team members, fosters a sense of purpose and belonging. A leader who provides support, encouragement, and recognition for individual and collective achievements strengthens team cohesion and commitment. On the other hand, when team members perceive that their personal values align with the goals and mission of the team, they are more likely to feel a sense of purpose and commitment. The probability of securing the team commitment with the statement of this manager is rather low, and one can assume that the team still striving to perform and succeed is primarily due to their individual value system.

Managing managers: Assessing the situation together with the manager by Genchi Gembutsu (Visiting the workplace for observing, feeling, and understanding the reality directly without any intermediaries) and providing constructive feedback, after clarifying performance expectations of the manager would be the first step. While doing so, the manager of the manager may observe keenly to find out for himself/herself if the manager i) had understood the goal and expectations, ii) had the skill necessary to perform and iii) had the willingness to perform and make the feedback specific. Apart from doing this, the manager of the manager may also offer to be an observer during the team performance review by the manager, for providing constructive feedback and developing the manager’s skills.

HR Department: The human resources function in companies is supposed to serve as the backbone for nurturing and managing the organization's most valuable asset: its people. HR professionals are supposed to play a pivotal role in recruiting and selecting top talent, fostering employee development and engagement, managing compensation and benefits, ensuring compliance with labour laws and regulations, resolving conflicts, and driving organizational culture and performance. The HR department, with its sniffing of the organisation dynamics, can proactively initiate a discussion on the manager’s statement, but in most cases, unfortunately though, the HR avoids critical discussions with the line managers on their effectiveness as a leader.

External intervention: I used to follow a golden rule: I'd only escalate an issue after informing and consulting with all the stakeholders involved. This is even more important for an external intervention. The first step, in my opinion would be to speak to the manager with data, facts and information along with timelines, as evidence of a reality prevailing over time. Only after this, with the consent of the manager, the manager of the manager must be involved for a common discussion on reestablishing the reality and offering support to all the three parties involved for realising an outcome favourable to everyone. Apart from this initial discussion, a progress review may also be initiated by the external mentor/coach for realising the amazing outcomes. With these nudges, statements like that of this manager, are being transformed to progressive ones within about 3 months, for consistently surpassing both the lead and lag indicators, in my experience.

What are your thoughts on these questions? Who should address this ‘elephant in the room’?

Happy reading!