Accountability and the Bermuda Triangle
Being a leader can feel like navigating through a Bermuda Triangle of challenges, where crucial skills mysteriously vanish when needed most. Picture this triangle with three essential skills at its corners: giving feedback, navigating difficult conversations, and fostering accountability.
What ties these skills together is the common thread of sensitive conversations— they all involve engaging with other people on topics where emotions may run high and opinions may likely differ.
This article will cover the vital importance of accountability: At Roster, we have analyzed the results of over 300 executive evaluations (all members of executive leadership team members at PE-backed organizations). A key question in the survey is: "Does the executive consistently deliver to the targeted results?". Of more than 65 leadership skills, holding accountability is a top-10 skill for predicting outcomes on Executive delivery to results.
Accountability as a Team Sport
For many managers, accountability is mysterious and frightening. For others it is a whip that they loudly crack. In both scenarios, accountability connotes blame and punishment, and is therefore delivered top-down through formal or informal power hierarchies. When accountability is enforced in this way, it does not move horizontally (among peers), upwards (from manage to manager) or diagonally (from one team manager to another team), and thus the overall organization is weaker and less coordinated.
On highly productive teams, accountability is seen and delivered as an act of empowerment. Accountability is a group effort, wherein all members of a team are responsible for holding all other members of the team to account. Therefore, accountability moves freely throughout the enterprise, increasing alignment and collaboration.
Accountability done well takes the place of micro-management and intervention. It is a sign of respect and trust.
A Simple Guide to Accountability
How can you turn accountability into a personal and team strength?
As a setup, let's understand what accountability is at it's core: accountability is generating an account of what is happening... that's it.
Holding accountable means asking for an update on what is happening.
Being accountable means providing an update on what is happening.
In order to instill this form of accountability:
(1) Align on a shared goal. Without a shared goal or vision of success, accountability is destined to flounder. A shared goal helps anchor accountability by providing a context in which to discuss progress and growth. Without it, accountability conversations will feel one-sided and naggy.
(2) Get clear on who's doing what. Most accountability conversations fail before they even begin, because we don't have clear conversations about roles and responsibilities. Be painfully explicit in these conversations. Ask the simple questions ("who, exactly is responsible for this?", "by when will you do that?", "what is the deliverable?").
(3) Ask the accountability question: Once you've done the above, the accountability part is easy... simply ask "what's happening with [xyz]?" And then, have a dialogue about the answer until you have shared clarity. If your accountability question is met with avoidance, defensiveness, or excuses, then you don't have clarity. Steer the conversation back to the original question, including a reminder of the shared goal and aligned responsibility if helpful.
When accountability alone is not enough
The above is all there is to accountability. It can be incredibly simple and help you in all your relationships. However, in some circumstances, the accountability question alone may not be enough. If you feel the need to turn up the dial, you can use the following tactics.
Impact statement: An impact statement steers accountability towards feedback. In an impact conversation, you describe the impact (positive or negative) that a lack or presence of execution is having on you or on other team members.
Pattern observation: Pattern observation is when you thread together multiple accountability conversations to help an individual see long-term behavior patterns and raise their self-awareness. Again, patterns can be either positive or negative. We are remarkably bad observers of our own behavior, so patterns that seem obvious to you may not have occurred to the recipient.
Clarifying consequences: These conversations are important when you are in a decision-making role and may need to make changes to roles or responsibilities based on performance. You should clarify consequences after several lower-stakes accountability conversations have occurred with no change in behavior. When you clarify consequences, be clear about what needs to change, and what will occur if it does or does not.
_____________
Ready to learn more on your leadership development journey? Contact us at Roster to find out how we can help. Experience the Roster difference.
_____________
Being a leader can feel like navigating through a Bermuda Triangle of challenges, where crucial skills mysteriously vanish when needed most. Picture this triangle with three essential skills at its corners: giving feedback, navigating difficult conversations, and fostering accountability.
What ties these skills together is the common thread of sensitive conversations— they all involve engaging with other people on topics where emotions may run high and opinions may likely differ.
This article will cover the vital importance of accountability: At Roster, we have analyzed the results of over 300 executive evaluations (all members of executive leadership team members at PE-backed organizations). A key question in the survey is: "Does the executive consistently deliver to the targeted results?". Of more than 65 leadership skills, holding accountability is a top-10 skill for predicting outcomes on Executive delivery to results.
Accountability as a Team Sport
For many managers, accountability is mysterious and frightening. For others it is a whip that they loudly crack. In both scenarios, accountability connotes blame and punishment, and is therefore delivered top-down through formal or informal power hierarchies. When accountability is enforced in this way, it does not move horizontally (among peers), upwards (from manage to manager) or diagonally (from one team manager to another team), and thus the overall organization is weaker and less coordinated.
On highly productive teams, accountability is seen and delivered as an act of empowerment. Accountability is a group effort, wherein all members of a team are responsible for holding all other members of the team to account. Therefore, accountability moves freely throughout the enterprise, increasing alignment and collaboration.
Accountability done well takes the place of micro-management and intervention. It is a sign of respect and trust.
A Simple Guide to Accountability
How can you turn accountability into a personal and team strength?
As a setup, let's understand what accountability is at it's core: accountability is generating an account of what is happening... that's it.
Holding accountable means asking for an update on what is happening.
Being accountable means providing an update on what is happening.
In order to instill this form of accountability:
(1) Align on a shared goal. Without a shared goal or vision of success, accountability is destined to flounder. A shared goal helps anchor accountability by providing a context in which to discuss progress and growth. Without it, accountability conversations will feel one-sided and naggy.
(2) Get clear on who's doing what. Most accountability conversations fail before they even begin, because we don't have clear conversations about roles and responsibilities. Be painfully explicit in these conversations. Ask the simple questions ("who, exactly is responsible for this?", "by when will you do that?", "what is the deliverable?").
(3) Ask the accountability question: Once you've done the above, the accountability part is easy... simply ask "what's happening with [xyz]?" And then, have a dialogue about the answer until you have shared clarity. If your accountability question is met with avoidance, defensiveness, or excuses, then you don't have clarity. Steer the conversation back to the original question, including a reminder of the shared goal and aligned responsibility if helpful.
When accountability alone is not enough
The above is all there is to accountability. It can be incredibly simple and help you in all your relationships. However, in some circumstances, the accountability question alone may not be enough. If you feel the need to turn up the dial, you can use the following tactics.
Impact statement: An impact statement steers accountability towards feedback. In an impact conversation, you describe the impact (positive or negative) that a lack or presence of execution is having on you or on other team members.
Pattern observation: Pattern observation is when you thread together multiple accountability conversations to help an individual see long-term behavior patterns and raise their self-awareness. Again, patterns can be either positive or negative. We are remarkably bad observers of our own behavior, so patterns that seem obvious to you may not have occurred to the recipient.
Clarifying consequences: These conversations are important when you are in a decision-making role and may need to make changes to roles or responsibilities based on performance. You should clarify consequences after several lower-stakes accountability conversations have occurred with no change in behavior. When you clarify consequences, be clear about what needs to change, and what will occur if it does or does not.
_____________
Ready to learn more on your leadership development journey? Contact us at Roster to find out how we can help. Experience the Roster difference.
_____________
Being a leader can feel like navigating through a Bermuda Triangle of challenges, where crucial skills mysteriously vanish when needed most. Picture this triangle with three essential skills at its corners: giving feedback, navigating difficult conversations, and fostering accountability.
What ties these skills together is the common thread of sensitive conversations— they all involve engaging with other people on topics where emotions may run high and opinions may likely differ.
This article will cover the vital importance of accountability: At Roster, we have analyzed the results of over 300 executive evaluations (all members of executive leadership team members at PE-backed organizations). A key question in the survey is: "Does the executive consistently deliver to the targeted results?". Of more than 65 leadership skills, holding accountability is a top-10 skill for predicting outcomes on Executive delivery to results.
Accountability as a Team Sport
For many managers, accountability is mysterious and frightening. For others it is a whip that they loudly crack. In both scenarios, accountability connotes blame and punishment, and is therefore delivered top-down through formal or informal power hierarchies. When accountability is enforced in this way, it does not move horizontally (among peers), upwards (from manage to manager) or diagonally (from one team manager to another team), and thus the overall organization is weaker and less coordinated.
On highly productive teams, accountability is seen and delivered as an act of empowerment. Accountability is a group effort, wherein all members of a team are responsible for holding all other members of the team to account. Therefore, accountability moves freely throughout the enterprise, increasing alignment and collaboration.
Accountability done well takes the place of micro-management and intervention. It is a sign of respect and trust.
A Simple Guide to Accountability
How can you turn accountability into a personal and team strength?
As a setup, let's understand what accountability is at it's core: accountability is generating an account of what is happening... that's it.
Holding accountable means asking for an update on what is happening.
Being accountable means providing an update on what is happening.
In order to instill this form of accountability:
(1) Align on a shared goal. Without a shared goal or vision of success, accountability is destined to flounder. A shared goal helps anchor accountability by providing a context in which to discuss progress and growth. Without it, accountability conversations will feel one-sided and naggy.
(2) Get clear on who's doing what. Most accountability conversations fail before they even begin, because we don't have clear conversations about roles and responsibilities. Be painfully explicit in these conversations. Ask the simple questions ("who, exactly is responsible for this?", "by when will you do that?", "what is the deliverable?").
(3) Ask the accountability question: Once you've done the above, the accountability part is easy... simply ask "what's happening with [xyz]?" And then, have a dialogue about the answer until you have shared clarity. If your accountability question is met with avoidance, defensiveness, or excuses, then you don't have clarity. Steer the conversation back to the original question, including a reminder of the shared goal and aligned responsibility if helpful.
When accountability alone is not enough
The above is all there is to accountability. It can be incredibly simple and help you in all your relationships. However, in some circumstances, the accountability question alone may not be enough. If you feel the need to turn up the dial, you can use the following tactics.
Impact statement: An impact statement steers accountability towards feedback. In an impact conversation, you describe the impact (positive or negative) that a lack or presence of execution is having on you or on other team members.
Pattern observation: Pattern observation is when you thread together multiple accountability conversations to help an individual see long-term behavior patterns and raise their self-awareness. Again, patterns can be either positive or negative. We are remarkably bad observers of our own behavior, so patterns that seem obvious to you may not have occurred to the recipient.
Clarifying consequences: These conversations are important when you are in a decision-making role and may need to make changes to roles or responsibilities based on performance. You should clarify consequences after several lower-stakes accountability conversations have occurred with no change in behavior. When you clarify consequences, be clear about what needs to change, and what will occur if it does or does not.
_____________
Ready to learn more on your leadership development journey? Contact us at Roster to find out how we can help. Experience the Roster difference.
_____________