11/18 2011
Posted in: Coaching, Leadership
Accountability is critical as a leader. Last week, I started a series of posts about what it takes to be a great coach. Here are further details on the need for accountability in great coaches.
Being accountable basically means doing what you say you are going to do and standing by what you did. Accountability starts with yourself and it takes discipline and desire in order to be accountable to yourself and others. Being accountable also takes a great deal of humility because accountable people need to be honest about their performance and admit when they are wrong.
It is sometimes challenging to want to admit this to ourselves, but our employees are a reflection of our ability to lead. If your employees come in late, have a “bad attitude”, are not responsive to coaching, or do not get along with other team members- that is a reflection on your leadership. We tend to blame our employees for their negative behaviors but in reality, a truly accountable leader would step up to the plate and coach that employee and hold that employee accountable for doing the right behaviors.
When I talk about “holding employees accountable”, many leaders have thought that what I mean by that is disciplining the employee. That is not what I mean at all. Unfortunately, there are some employees who will finally change their behaviors when a verbal warning or written warning is issued. But what I mean by holding employees accountable is this:
- Set clear expectations and when the employee does not meet those expectations, acknowledge the fact that the expectations were not met. “I needed this information by 9:00 this morning and I do not yet have it. Can you give me a status?”
- Reset the expectations and ensure that the employee understands what his/her role is and that there are no obstacles to doing this behavior.
- Ask why the employee did not meet your expectations. This is a critical step in ongoing accountability. The employee may have the will to complete the task but if there are other obstacles standing in the way of completion of the task, it is important that you identify those together. If you do not find out why the employee did not meet the expectations and address the root of the problem, this problem may come up again and prevent the employee from being successful in the future.
The opposite of “holding accountable” is “tolerating”. Most leaders who do not hold themselves or others accountable have fallen into the habit of hoping. Leaders who hope employees will do better but do not put action behind their hope are not holding themselves accountable for leading and are not helping their employees to reach their optimal performance potential.
MOMENT OF REFLECTION
Am I holding others accountable for their commitments by communicating with them? Is there someone who I need to have a dialogue with today regarding a missed commitment?
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