Holding People Accountable

By Clay S. Nelson - President, Consulting Services Network LLC

As a business leader how do you define accountability? Is it something you apply to others and not yourself? Do you see it as a tool that can benefit all areas of your world or do you reserve it strictly for the big, tough issues?

The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines
'Accountability' as:
the quality or state of being accountable; especially: an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.

The teams of people responsible for leading companies to their ultimate success or failure should be held accountable for their actions whatever the result. Yet, there is more to being held accountable than simply taking your lumps when things go awry. The truth is, often things go awry because of a lax accountability system or no system existing at all.

As a business coach for 20+ years, I have worked with very few clients who did not initially resist accountability being added to the equation that ultimately caused their success. Accountability is a word we like to throw around, but when you get down to the brass tacks of applying it, why does everyone turn and run away? Applying accountability to yourself and others is really a very simple process, and no surprise here, the process centers on commitment and communication.

What is the key to successfully holding people accountable?

Ask their permission to do so. Holding someone accountable for something they have not agreed and committed to be responsible for is like asking a room full of very young children, "Who broke the lamp?" and receiving nothing but blank stares in return. Very young children are just learning how to negotiate in the world. They are learning right from wrong and what it means to be responsible for their actions. So as it is with your team, without guidance from you regarding expectations and without their permission and an acknowledgment of responsibility on an issue, you are likely to receive nothing but blank stares, hand tossing, and finger pointing when it comes to dishing out lumps. (See tips below for effectively holding people accountable.)

So, with a team in place that clearly understands and accepts that they are accountable for their actions around those issues that you have together planned out, can you see the possibilities for your company? Owning accountability causes us to consider the potential consequences of our actions before we take them; it allows us to spend less time backtracking and making excuses for what we did or did not do, and it leaves little room for being stopped around a certain issue or assigned task.

Accountability is a powerful tool that will help keep you and your team on track, if it is applied to all team members equally and consistently, at all times. It is a tool that, when universally applied, will change the way you and your team think and act and, ultimately, the results you produce. It will help transform your company into a dynamic, unstoppable machine! Now knowing what accountability can bring to you and your team, do you really want to turn and run away, or do you want to play the game and win?

Tips for holding people accountable.

In addition to being clear that permission is necessary in order to hold someone accountable, you may be wondering, "What is the most effective way of holding people accountable? How do you hold people accountable without making them wrong?

Unfortunately no matter how good intentioned someone may be in their actions, things do not always go as planned, and it is your job as a leader to help those responsible to understand their culpability in the situation, in order to avoid the same costly mistakes in the future. This can be done effectively by using the following steps:

Acknowledge what happened from your perspective and acknowledge any accountability you might have in the situation.
Check it out from their perspective.
1. Make sure they knew it was their accountability.
2. Ask what happened.
Explain the impact it had on you, them, others, and/or the company. (Do not make them wrong.)
Ask what they would like to say at this point. (You are looking for an indication that they are taking responsibility for their part.)
Inform them of your expectations for the future and of any possible consequences if this reoccurs and has been a pattern in their behavior.
Get their promise regarding future actions/behavior.
Say something to complete the issue and reestablish the relationship.

Clay S. Nelson, the founder of Consulting Services Network LLC, and his team are committed to putting fun, family and financial freedom into everyones business and personallives. With over two decades of experience coaching business leaders in creating life balance, building teams, and writing plans, their programs are designed to alter the culturesof companies and families. They make a powerful and lasting difference with each person they meet, every group they speak with, and with every client they serve.