Leadership Techniques: Holding People Accountable

Holding team members accountable requires you to walk a very narrow edge. On either side of that edge is a place that is too consoling and safe (it is too lax) and on the other side of the edge is a place that is overbearing, demanding, and full of "make wrongs." Wow... Neither one of those sides sounds like the greatest place to go when holding people accountable!

Being too lax inside of an accountability agreement creates the room for nothing, or at least very little, to get done; you get no specific measurable results. Being overbearing, demanding, and full of "make wrongs" sends your team, those you count on to move your company forward, into overwhelm; it shuts them down and leaves no open door of possibility. So as a leader, who do you have to be in order to hold people accountable without falling to either side? You have to be an invisible leader of sorts. Listening to what isn't being said; ie: "reading" between the lines of what is being said to you. And when a team member is off task, be the question, and steer them back on course without making them feel made wrong. It is about being powerful and effective in your job as a leader without being overbearing and intimidating. And it isn't always easy to do!

Most often when a commitment is not lived up to, it isn't because the person responsible didn't have good intentions. They just let their "stuff" get in the way and went about their business, intent on doing it all... eventually. So if that is the case, how do you as a leader get team members past their "stuff" and on to achieving the results they committed to, without making them wrong?

You must:

Stay present to not making your team members wrong. Stick only to facts and the commitments they have made. In the end, no one can argue with that.

Encourage your team members to communicate, and really listen to what is going on with them. We all have circumstances that we allow to get in the way of commitments we've made. Encourage your team to clear what is stopping them so that you can move on.

Don't be a Lone Ranger. You cannot expect your team to ask for help, if you don't refuse to ask for help.

Lead by example. Be your word everywhere and at all times, and when you don't, forgive yourself and get back to it!

Effective leaders hold their teams accountable in powerful and productive ways, and they do so by walking the fine edge between being too soft and too harsh. They walk softly and in such a way that those they contribute to may not even know the difference that has been made. Making a difference is what this is really about.

As a powerful and effective leader, you'll make a difference in how your team performs and how they handle the circumstances of life... you'll help them see the importance of being their word everywhere and the power of committing to specific measurable results. In the end, their productivity and effectiveness on your behalf will improve and maybe, just maybe, you will make a positive difference in how they interact with their spouse, their children, their neighbors, or their best friends. You will make a difference, and although they may not understand it right away, your team will someday thank you for the difference you made.