accountability

Instilling Self-Accountability

What’s your definition of accountability?

We often think of it as something done by someone to another person. Even our language suggests that it’s a one-way street: “I’m going to hold you accountable for…”

I wrote a blog post on that topic in January 2024. In that piece, I commented on the pitfalls of believing it’s the leader’s responsibility to hold their people accountable. Instead, I proposed that accountability might be framed as a mutual set of responsibilities that are established by setting clear expectations & shared agreements up front. When agreements are broken (which is where accountability can get challenging), the parties explore and adjust without blame.

In my post, I wondered whether that notion might be too “pie in the sky” based on conversations with clients who manage significant performance issues.

Reframing Accountability

Many of the leaders I work with struggle with holding their people accountable, regardless of what level they are in the organization.  According to a CEO Benchmarking Report, holding people accountable is difficult—even for leaders who head up companies. 18% of the CEOs surveyed cited “holding people accountable” as their biggest weakness. Additionally, 15% struggle with “letting go of underperformers.”

Is this challenging for you, too?

The 4 Best Ways to Get Your People Excited About Doing Their Job

Charlotte’s Conundrum

Charlotte dreads her upcoming meeting. She has to give performance feedback to James, one of her longtime employees. He’s frequently late on project deadlines; each time he has a different—and plausible—explanation. But there’s a pattern affecting his relationships with his co-workers and she has to deal with his behavior.