Third Quarter 2011- Issue 5
Note from Coach Mario-At the End of the Day-“Accountability”
Throughout the year, I am sure you have encountered many instances where individuals have taken the initiative to be personally accountable for their actions that have resulted in excellent results. As leaders, one should always be on the look-out for these situations and recognize these individuals for a job well done. As the business leader, holding individuals and organizations accountable requires seeing accountability as a cornerstone or pillar of effective leadership. Holding accountability requires:
- Setting and communicating expectations.
- Following up to ensure clarity of the expected results.
- Periodically planned results review meetings that compare actual to planned expectations.
- Appropriate actions from significant deviations of expectations.
- Having a multiple stakeholder perspective.
Accountability is the preface to achieving great results. Without accountability, accomplishments will often go unrecognized or will be seriously jeopardized. Individuals who understand purposeful expectations and have a sense of accountability are highly motivated to undertake the challenge and often go beyond expectations. Being held accountable allows individuals to feel empowered and lead either themselves or others to great achievements. Being held accountable also spurs innovation and creativity inside individuals. When one has personal accountability they ask more of themselves and “dig deeper” thereby accomplishing beyond what was envisioned. Accountability is a key element of being an effective leader and people want to be held accountable.
As leaders you should evaluate the accountability models you have in place, including the tools such as balanced scorecards that include planned expectations. With good accountability models and clear expectations communicated and received, people will feel empowered to achieve the expectations and you will be more effective in your leadership role without micromanaging. However, without effective or any accountability models, the predictability of the results is at the mercy of simply what happens, which may or may not align with your expectations.
-Mario Flores
Mario Flores. All Rights Reserved. No part of these materials may be reproduced in any form without written permission.
