The True Measure of a Leader's Accountability - The Say-Do Ratio

True accountability is an elusive concept for many leaders in organizations today. When the heat is on and performance doesn't measure up to expectation, the ineffective leader will point outward for an external cause (towards somebody/something else as being at fault or behaving in a helpless manner bemoaning such things as "I had no control over it" or "it's not my fault").

The effective leader, on the other hand, will instead first look inward for a personal realization (the self-awareness of knowing that "I" could have done something different to create a different result in the moment). This is a more accountable and conscious perspective and represents leadership from the inside-out. It flows from the leader’s essence (personal philosophy, purpose and core values) and is deeply rooted in one's character.

The journey towards becoming a more accountable leader can be measured through the ethic of your Say-Do Ratio. In its simplest form, the Say-Do Ratio says "are you the type of leader who does what you say you will do?" or "are you the type of leader who says more than you actually do?" The difference between these two perspectives is profound as well as life and career altering. It exemplifies the journey from a self-serving to an others-serving attitude and approach and helps to define what you will be known for.

A mentor of mine once put it this way, "if your Say-Do Ratio is anything less than one, then as a leader, you have some work (or explaining) to do." This means ideally that our Say-Do Ratio should be 1:1 - for every promise, commitment or agreement that we make, we should follow through and deliver accordingly - why, because someone else's success may depend upon it. These are obligations that we should never take for granted no matter how small they may seem - and someone will always know if we do not keep them.

The underpinnings of a high Say-Do Ratio are rooted in the degree (0-100%) to which we feel personally responsible, accountable and empowered (Empowerment for High Performing Organizations, William Guillory) to follow through on the commitments that we make to get results for ourselves and others. Personal responsibility is the willingness to view yourself as the principal source of results and circumstances that occur in your life, individually and collectively with others in the workplace. Personal accountability is the willingness to claim ownership for results which are produced as a consequence of your involvement, individually and collectively with others in the workplace. Personal empowerment is the internally-derived capacity to perform at or above an established level of expectation (performance). The higher the percentages in each of these three areas, the greater the likelihood of assuming total ownership for results and follow through on our commitments.

Accountability is not something that can be given to us or imposed upon us. It represents the most conscious of personal choices and is something that each one of us must stand up and claim for ourselves - and only we can do that. In leadership education today we speak about the need for leaders to hold others accountable, this is a misnomer is some ways because it means that someone else is answerable for you. Rather than teaching our leaders how to hold others accountable, I believe that we should be teaching accountability so that people do it for themselves. It represents a much more proactive, healthy and affirming outlook. The Say-Do Ratio represents an important leadership teaching tool on how make the choice to be more self-accountable, reliable, credible and behaviorally consistent.

To be an accountable leader (with a positive Say-Do Ratio) we have to at times be willing to say "no" - and for some leaders this is a learned capacity, it just doesn't come easy. Leaders should never make commitments that they don't want to or can't keep - it's better and more accountable not to make them at all. Consider your commitments, promises and agreements as binding contracts with others. In consulting circles there is an old axiom that says "if you don't learn to say "no," then your "yeses" won't mean anything. I believe the same things holds true about the commitments and promises that we make to others. Make your "yeses" count more by committing to only those things that you are willing and purposeful about following through on - it is that important.

Your Say-Do Ratio is a precious commodity that can significantly impact your credibility and trustworthiness, therefore, never take it for granted. Remember the words of leading management consultant Peter Block that "if you are an accountable person then you will live with a certain amount of anxiety...because anxiety if the price that you pay for being accountable."

So, what's your Say-Do Ratio?