Have you created a culture of accountability in your business?

Or are you just assuming (hoping) people will ‘get stuff done’?

Every leader wants to have a team of folks who are accountable. Who take responsibility and get their stuff done correctly and on time. (This is also referred to as a self-managing team.)

But not all leaders get that it is THEIR responsibility to create a culture of accountability.

Accountability is not a solo act – it’s not just about hiring the right person, crossing your fingers and hoping they will (finally!) be the one to get stuff done. On time. Correctly.

Accountability is the RESULT of your leadership – of all the things that come before the stage of actually getting the work done.

Does your team get the overall vision and direction of the company? <– folks want to be a part of something bigger than themselves

Does each person understand their role in service of the big picture? <- folks want to understand why their work matters

Are you making clear requests? <– there are 3 parts to a clear request, it’s not just “hey, do this thing”

Have you set an expectation of what you are looking for? <– it’s important to lay out what successful completion of a task or project looks like

How are you ensuring that your team is operating in their strengths? <– many problems arise when we ask folks to do stuff that, truthfully, they shouldn’t be doing at all…

Are you on the same page re: deadlines & priorities? <– SOOO many problems arise here, especially when there’s a lot going on.

How are you going to communicate with each other around progress? <– if you aren’t in the loop re: progress then don’t be surprised when progress isn’t being made

What happens if your team member gets stuck? Or falls behind? <– how are you there to support them through this? (vs. just leaving them to fend for themselves…)

This is exactly what we are going to be working through together – and what I’ll be teaching – in my new team leadership workshop coming up later this month (reply to this email for details…)

Here’s the bottom line:

Like many things in life – you get out of it what you are willing to put into it.

Team is not just about ‘finding the right person’ – so that you can get back to work and they can just *magically* get stuff done (with little to no effort on your part.)

It’s about working together – especially in those early days – so that you can all be on the same page, working towards a common goal, each of you in your strengths. It’s about supporting each person to do their best work, to be allowed to make mistakes, to keep learning and to empower them to be all they are meant to be.

Accountability is not a solo act – it’s the result of strong leadership.