I strongly feel that the three biggest people problems are the results of three things that can be summed up in an ABC acronym.
A – Accountability (or lack of)
B – Bad Bosses
C – Command and Control Culture
Today, we are going to focus on the A (Accountability). Accountability is defined as taking personal responsibility for performance and results, good and bad. I like the quote below:
“Accountability builds response-ability.” Stephen Covey
And it’s true. If there isn’t any accountability, you aren’t likely to get a response–or at least not the one you want.
From my experience, most leaders don’t do accountability very well. According to a Harvard Business Review study, 46% of managers were rated poorly on “holds people accountable when they don’t deliver.” And this is not just mediocre; they were rated poorly!
What Happens When There is a Lack of Accountability
Goals aren't met.
Unclear priorities across the team.
High turnover–and your high performers will be the first to leave!
Low morale.
Low levels of trust.
The Five C’s of Accountability
I like to use the Five C’s model to guide accountability in organizations.
1. Clarity
It is important to provide clear expectations (aligned with Company culture and values) and reinforce them regularly. Be clear about what you expect, the outcome you’ll be looking for, and how you will measure success every step of the way. Make sure you start communicating these expectations during the interview process and throughout the employment process.
2. Courage
I believe that lack of courage is the main reason that accountability isn’t done well. As a leader, you must have the courage to have tough conversations. Problems will not go away if you ignore them. And if you don’t address issues, you are unintentionally affirming negative behaviors. What you permit, you promote!
3. Collaboration
Work with employees to develop goals and then ask for their feedback and commitment. If you involve employees in the process, you are much more likely to garner their commitment resulting in the successful achievement of goals.
4. Consistency
Give feedback regularly, not just during performance reviews! Having regular one-on-one meetings with team members which include two-way feedback can help you ensure that this happens.
In addition, check yourself to make sure that you are being fair and consistent in your accountability efforts. Maybe you are having an accountability conversation with one employee about the quality of her work while another employee has many more issues with quality that you haven’t addressed. That is not being fair and consistent. Step back and do a consistency check on yourself periodically.
5. Correction
When you have tried the other four C’s and there are still issues, you may need to move to correction which could involve counseling, disciplinary action, and/or termination.