Practical Accountability for Project Managers

How to ensure teams deliver quality results on time, within budget, & to the expected level of quality.

Introduction

Effectively assigning and managing accountability is a key skill for project managers, as we are responsible for leading and managing complex projects that involve multiple stakeholders and resources – all with different levels of “skin in the game”. Accountability means being answerable for the outcomes of one’s actions and decisions, and it is the responsibility of the project manager to ensure that our team members are given the right tools to be able to deliver on their accountabilities that contribute to the success of the project. In this article, we will explore some practical tips and strategies for enhancing accountability in project management, and how to apply them to your own projects.

Clarify the context and expectations

One of the first steps to ensure accountability is to clarify the context and expectations of the relevant task with your stakeholders. This means explaining the purpose, scope, objectives, deliverables, and success criteria of the tasks, and how they align with the overall goals of the project. By doing this, you will help them understand what they need to achieve, why it matters, and how – what they are doing – fits into the bigger picture. The reason this context is important is that it will help them prioritise the task, and as issues or questions arise, help them to (somewhat) navigate those themselves as they will have “the end in mind”.

Establish boundaries and support

Another important step to ensure accountability is to establish boundaries (or guiderails) and support for the team members contributing to the project. Boundaries are the limits and guidelines that define the scope and authority of each team member, and help them avoid scope creep, role confusion, and micromanagement. If you are asking someone to provide a contribution to a project, they are obviously a subject matter expert (SME) and so making use of that expertise will be valuable, so rather than prescribing a detailed approach and timeline, discuss and agree on some boundaries, maybe some “non-negotiables” like deadlines, or quality requirements, but be open to allowing the SME to develop and finalise their deliverable in the way the suits them and their profession in the way the suits them. Not only will you get a better outcome, but you will likely create an ally that can be called upon in the future for more project work.

But even if you use an SME, there will always be questions or issues that arise because of the nuanced requirements of any given project. So, outlining the ongoing support you will provide them is important – and when doing so, consider their overall experience, experience within your organisation, and their experience with working on other projects (as opposed to BAU). If you have not worked together before, consider providing additional – or more explicit – guiderails and support.

You should work with your stakeholders to agree on the boundaries and support that they need, and document them clearly. By doing this, you will help your team work autonomously and confidently, while still maintaining control and oversight of the project.

Monitor progress and provide feedback

A third step to ensure accountability is to monitor progress and provide feedback. Monitoring progress means tracking and measuring the progression of deliverables from both a quality and quantity perspective. Even with seasoned SMEs, ensure you have regular check ins established for the SME to discuss and showcase progress, and for you to provide feedback on the quality and detail of their deliverable, but also to help them stay on schedule. It is human nature that the longer someone has to provide an output, the longer it can be put off; but this can result in a flurry of activity late in the timeline and lead to late or low-quality deliverables.

Whilst keeping in mind the principle above (allowing an SME to determine how they develop and finalise their deliverable) look to agree on what good progress looks like and then help them hold themselves to account by challenging them if progress is not being made as fast as you both agreed it should. For example, if you both agreed a first draft should be ready in 2 weeks, a that 2 week check in, if the first draft is not ready, discuss what the blockers were, and how they see making up that time. If in doubt, re-plan together or look to jointly escalate the issue if they need to free up capacity to deliver.

Similarly, ensure you check on the quality of the deliverable being developed. This is not to criticise the output of the SME, as in this context, “quality” refers to not only how “good” or “accurate” the deliverable is, but the size, detail, style, format, and many other variables that may be required for the project, but not have been effectively communicated. Many a deliverable that has been produced has not met it’s mark mainly because – despite best efforts – the specific requirements of the deliverable were not communicated, either because something was assumed knowledge, or just a different mental model or professional expectations of a particular output. By providing feedback early, the SME can adjust their output to match the requirements of the project.

Conclusion

Effectively assigning and managing accountability is a practical skill for project managers, as it enables us to lead and manage their projects effectively and successfully. Remember to clarify the context and expectations, establish boundaries and support, and monitor progress and provide feedback. Practical accountability is not about providing the “stick” of a looming deadline or setting unachievable expectations, but enabling SMEs to provide the project (and therefore the organisation) with a meaningful and high quality contribution within their capabilities and capacity in a supporting and collaborative environment.

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