"By making your employees more accountable, you make your organization more productive."
-Jack Welch
Anyone in a leadership or management position knows that holding people accountable for results is the foundation of an organization’s performance; it’s management 101. Yet it appears there is a gap between knowing and doing.
In our survey of over 400 senior and mid-level leaders, 40% report that employees in their organizations are not being held accountable for results.
Why do some organizations succeed at instilling accountability as a core element of their culture and others fall short? What can a leader do to create a culture of accountability? Our research on top performing companies identified five actions that have the greatest impact on an organization’s ability to build a culture of accountability and achieve optimal results:
1. Translate strategy into specific objectives. Beyond developing a shared picture of the company’s strategic direction it is necessary to clarify key priorities related to execution and translate these into specific work-unit goals. This increases the likelihood that implementation plans will be targeted toward outcomes that have the greatest impact. In addition, clear department goals facilitate goal-setting at the individual level, which greatly enhances accountability.
2. Coordinate actions across levels and work units and follow up on progress. Coordinating and monitoring activity is a critical aspect of execution and it is an essential ingredient for building a culture of accountability. It’s how companies keep people focused on high-priority goals and actions. The most effective leaders are ruthless in monitoring goals and reinforcing appropriate actions and behaviors.
3. Provide accurate and timely information to employees. This involves clear communication at the organizational level about strategic priorities, as well as ongoing dialogue between managers and their direct reports. Goal setting and ongoing coaching are key elements of most organizations’ performance management systems, yet too often, performance management is viewed as an administrative, HR-driven activity, rather than a tool to help achieve results. When managers view performance management as a tool to drive business results they are more successful in creating a culture of accountability.
4. Ensure that your actions are consistent with company objectives, values, and priorities. You can’t expect people to trust you or follow you if are not willing to live by the same values and consistently support the same priorities that you require of others. If you expect people to be accountable for results, you must model this behavior and take swift action when people fail to deliver expected results.
5. Clarify expectations and head off potential problems. Effective managers use three simple techniques to drive accountability:
§ Clarify exactly what needs to be done
§ Establish a specific date for when the task needs to be completed
§ Agree on checkpoints to review progress
These actions are based on three fundamental premises:
§ Never assume people know what’s expected of them. Even tenured, experienced employees will not know what your expectations are for performance unless you clearly articulate them.
§ Don’t just talk about ideas. Avoid the pitfall of talking about an idea, but not agreeing to actions and accountability (and people assuming someone else is going to do something)
§ Don’t ignore when someone has dropped the ball. It is critical to provide timely feedback and help people understand what caused them to miss a commitment and, even more importantly, identify what they will do differently next time.
While it is not easy to create a culture of accountability, it is critical for the health of your team and the success of your business. Few factors negatively impact morale and productivity more than the perception that others are not held accountable for their behaviors or results.
Share your experience:
- What is your greatest challenge as you work to build a culture of accountability?
- What other tips do you have?
