The Importance of Accountability in Leadership

In the realm of leadership, accountability is a cornerstone of effective management and a healthy organizational culture. Recently, I had a conversation with a coaching client about a staff member who was not meeting expectations and negatively impacting the team. This scenario is all too common and it’s one I encounter frequently in my leadership coaching practice.

Why do we often hesitate to address these issues head-on? The reasons are varied and complex, ranging from fear of confrontation to a lack of confidence in our own skills. Yet, developing the ability to hold accountability conversations with respect and care is essential for any leader committed to fostering a productive and positive work environment.

What prevents us from holding others accountable with respect and care?

• FEAR of… (you fill in the blank)
• Lack of skill or confidence
• Not wanting to “hurt” someone else’s feelings
• Concerned with how the other person will react
• Hoping the situation will fix itself
• Hoping someone else will take care of it
• Being too empathetic
• Having anxiety about having the conversation
• What’s your reason?

As a leader, holding people accountable is a skill that absolutely must be developed!  Leadership Accountability suggests that leaders answer to someone or something. Leaders must be accountable to their management, their staff, and the organization’s culture.  This means holding themselves accountable for holding others accountable. 

There are many reasons to find the courage to actually have an accountability conversation. These conversations must be handled with care and respect, while at the same time making clear to your staff member the expectations of their job and their behaviors that impact others on the team.

Reasons to Have Accountability Conversations

• Not meeting job expectations or deliverables
• Impacting the culture with a negative attitude or offensive behavior
• Hygiene issues
• Making the same mistake repeatedly
• Unwilling to get on board with organizational changes, initiatives and/or goals
• Not serving customers with quality and care
• Having a negative impact on other staff members through behaviors, communication style and not meeting job expectations
• Being insulting, offensive or rude to others
• Leadership losing the respect of other staff members for not holding staff accountable when needed
• The organization losing of good staff members by not holding lower performing staff accountable
• Morale going down company-wide
• Everyone “seeing” what is not being addressed
• The longer a behavior is not held accountable, often the situation gets worse
• What would you add to the list?

Being Held Accountable

Receiving feedback is a crucial aspect of personal and professional growth, especially when it comes from someone holding us accountable. As leaders, we may sometimes be on the receiving end of feedback from our managers, peers, customers, and staff. It is important for us to not only develop the skill of Giving Feedback, but also the skill to gracefully Receive Feedback. 

Using Google’s keyword tool, you can see how many google searches a phrase word gets.  When comparing the search terms Giving Feedback with Receiving Feedback here are the results.

Very interesting! It is equally as important, if not more important, as a leader to be able to Receive Feedback well. No matter how skilled the feedback delivery is, Receiving Feedback is tough! It takes courage to both Give and Receive Feeback!

How Will You Create an Accountability Culture?

As a leader, how do you create a culture of accountability?  Be the example!  If you make a mistake, be the first to own it, apologize sincerely, do what it takes to earn trust back and be consistent and congruent with your words, promises and actions! 

Here are some additional tips:

• Create a safe environment. When a mistake is made, treat it as a learning opportunity.  Allow all to learn from the mistakes in a positive way.
• Align company values with specific behavioral and performance expectations.
• Balance accountability with compassion. Be human!
• Don’t take on too much responsibility. Delegate and trust staff members to do the task without micromanaging or jumping in and taking over.
• Set clear team and individual goals and have regular 1 on 1 coaching sessions to discuss progress and help remove blocks and barriers.
• Empower your staff to hold you and the leadership of the organization accountable.
• Connect staff strengths and interests with some of their responsibilities.
• Discourage blaming – Encourage owning it!
• Be transparent with your staff. Don’t avoid hard conversations, keep staff in the loop as much as possible.
• When having an accountability conversation, do your homework. Be prepared. Choose the right time and place to have the conversation. Be specific and concise with your words and expectations.  Ask questions. Listen. Put your requests in writing. Set the staff member up for success – what is needed to remove the blocks and barriers?  (Training, skill building, mentoring, etc.) Schedule an exact date to follow up and discuss progress. Celebrate wins!

Challenge Yourself

In summary, as a leader, this is a skill that is imperative to the success of your leadership, the culture of your organization, and the morale of your staff members, which all impact the ultimate success of the entire organization.

Leadership Challenge:  Reflect about a time where you know you should have had an accountability conversation and did not.  What was the outcome for you, the staff member and the rest of the team?  How would you handle that situation today?  What would you do differently?  How can you find the courage to hold yourself accountable to holding others accountable?