How Do I Get 1% Better Today?
THE ANSWER — BE ACCOUNTABLE.
Last week we started talking about the second role of a leader, which is to achieve results. If you remember, there are three things we need to achieve results: clarity, accountability, and support. Today we are going to spend some time on accountability.
I think sometimes we hear the word accountability and immediately think about punishment. Somebody did something wrong, somebody didn’t meet the standard, so there has to be a consequence. But accountability is really much simpler than that. Accountability is the combination of paying attention and taking action. You pay attention, observe, and watch what people are doing, and then you act. You follow up and do something about what you saw. Accountability by itself is a neutral act.
This is important because punishment should not be our first form of accountability. It should be our last. Great coaches, teachers, parents, and leaders understand that accountability should first be used as an opportunity to teach. When someone isn’t meeting the standard, maybe we need to re-clarify what we’re asking them to do. Maybe we need to re-support them, simplify the task, decrease some of the complexity, remove uncertainty, give them better tools or resources, or simply try a different approach. Before we decide someone won’t do something, we better make sure we’ve done everything we can to help them understand how to do it.
When punishment is always the first response to mistakes, people eventually become afraid to make mistakes. They stop taking chances, trying new things, and stretching themselves because they’re worried about what will happen if they fail. That’s not what we want. We want an environment where people know there is a standard, know they will be held accountable to that standard, but also know we’re going to coach and support them as they work to get better.
There are three action steps I think are important when it comes to accountability. The first one may surprise some people: catch people doing things right. Accountability isn’t just looking for what’s wrong. We should be paying attention to what people are doing well. When somebody meets the standard, tell them. Say good job. Say thank you. Recognize them and reward good performance. If we want certain behaviors repeated, we need to make sure people know when we see them.
The second step is to challenge unwanted behavior. I’ve always believed that if you permit it, you promote it. If we continually walk past something that doesn’t meet our standard without addressing it, eventually that behavior becomes the standard. There will even be times when something needs to be challenged publicly, especially when the behavior happened publicly, but that doesn’t mean we have to demean, embarrass, attack, or tear somebody down. We can point out the behavior, reinforce the standard, and coach the person without attacking the person.
The third step is to escalate consequences when necessary. Consequences absolutely have a place in accountability, but they shouldn’t always be where we start. If we’ve clarified the expectation, taught it, supported it, provided the necessary tools, challenged the unwanted behavior, and somebody still chooses not to meet the standard, then consequences may need to increase. The goal, however, is still the same: help the person get better.
Another important part of accountability is understanding the difference between drivers and indicators. Think about the dashboard in your vehicle. Your dashboard tells you what’s happening, but it doesn’t actually produce anything. The speedometer tells you how fast you’re going, but it doesn’t make the car go. Dashboards measure. Drivers produce.
We spend a lot of time looking at indicators. Wins and losses are indicators. Grades, sales numbers, statistics, production numbers, and scores are indicators. They tell us what happened, but if we really want to improve, we have to look deeper and figure out what drove those results. Within a team or organization, culture is one of the strongest drivers of day-to-day behavior, and behavior is one of the strongest drivers of results. Mindset, attitude, emotions, habits, preparation, effort, and standards are all things that eventually show up in our performance.
We love looking at the scoreboard, but the scoreboard is usually telling us the story after it has already been written. If we want to change the scoreboard, we have to change the behaviors that are producing what’s on it. That’s why accountability matters so much. We aren’t just holding people accountable for the result; we’re paying attention to the daily behaviors that eventually create the result.
Finally, and maybe most importantly, accountability has to start with the leader. As coaches and leaders, our job isn’t to do everything ourselves. Our job is to make sure our players, employees, students, or staff are equipped to perform. So before I hold somebody else accountable, I need to look at myself first. Did I clearly communicate the standard? Did I teach them what I wanted? Did I give them the tools they needed? Did I support them? Did I address the behavior when I first saw it? And maybe the toughest question of all: Am I modeling the same standard I’m asking them to live by?
It’s easy when someone fails to immediately ask, “What’s wrong with them?” Great leaders are willing to first ask, “What could I have done better?” That doesn’t remove personal responsibility from the other person. It means I’m willing to take responsibility for my part in helping them succeed.
That’s what accountability really is. Pay attention and take action. Catch people doing things right. Challenge behaviors that don’t meet the standard. Teach before you punish. Escalate consequences when necessary. And before you demand accountability from everybody around you, make sure you’re willing to demand it from yourself.
Accountability isn’t about catching people doing something wrong. It’s about helping people get something right.
That’s how we Never Stop Getting Better.
John Perry
Source: Brian Kight, The Culture Guru