This is Part Two of a piece on accountability conversations. If you haven’t read the original piece, you can find it here. You can also find a free PDF worksheet, 5 Reasons to Tackle That Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding here.

Quick recap: Many of us find oodles of ways to avoid having conversations focused on holding someone else accountable. And yet, there are so many situations that could use such a conversation:

• Your co-worker always shows up eight minutes late for your weekly team calls. Meanwhile, the rest of you spend that time making idle chitchat.

• Your neighbor’s dog barks all night long. Every night.

• Your daughter leaves dishes in the sink, right after you’ve finshed the dishes.

• Your direct report is a lovely person who just happens to have a chronic backlog of overdue assignments.