Fostering Accountability in your Team

Fostering Accountability in your Team

Research published in Harvard Business Review reported that holding people accountable is the single biggest thing managers avoid doing. The consequence of this is that it encourages a culture of mediocrity and results in lacklustre organisational performance, reduces employee engagement and negatively impacts customer satisfaction.We know that getting angry with people when they fall short is not a productive process for holding people accountable, as it almost always reduces long-term motivation and performance.

Here are a few ways to foster accountability in your team:

1. Set Clear Expectations

The first step is to be crystal clear about what you expect. This means being clear about the outcome you are looking for, how you will measure success and how people should go about achieving that objective. Have a genuinely two-way conversation and agree on what ‘great’ looks like, and how they will achieve this, sets up personal accountability from the beginning. A simple way to think about this is : What do they need to DO; What behaviours do they need to DISPLAY; What results do they need to DELIVER.  

2. Explain the Why

Ensure that each member of the team understands the reasons that a level of performance is required (e.g., the consequences to the organisation of poor performance). Clearly communicate how each person’s performance contributes to the overall success of the project, team or business. This connects the work they do with the value the organisation aspires to deliver.  

3. Ensure Capability

What skills does the person need to meet the expectations? What resources will they need? If a person does not have what’s necessary, can they acquire what’s missing? Set them up for success by ensuring they are equipped to deliver what’s required.

4. Provide Regular Feedback 

Monitor peoples’ performance regularly against the standards and provide honest, open, ongoing feedback on performance that is lower than required. Make sure that you also recognise and reward performance that meets or exceeds the standards. 

 

5. Openly Discuss Accountability

Is the idea of accountability a taboo subject in your organisation? It shouldn’t be. As a leader, your role is to get everyone comfortable with the idea of holding each other accountable. During team and project meetings, ask “so how will we hold each other accountable for delivering on these tasks?”. Reach some consensus about an accountability process that everyone is committed to.

  

6. Use Supportive Data

Give employees the data they need to track progress. Using analytics to help find out where the issues are can help make people more accountable. 

 

7. Have A Courageous Conversation 

Commit to always having a conversation with underperforming employees to address the gap and agree on an appropriate improvement plan.

Further Reading

For further reading see Harvard Business Review's One Out of Every Two Managers Is Terrible at Accountability by Darren Overfield and Rob Kaiser.