It’s nearly impossible to step into a meeting these days and not hear the buzz word – accountability. When productivity slips or something goes wrong people want someone held accountable. In the same breath that accountability is spoken often comes the word consequences. It seems to be an accepted, yet misaligned, premise that consequences must be associated with holding others accountable. Well, how’s that assumption working for you? …Didn’t think so!
Trying to hold people accountable sucks! It’s a suck of time, energy and money in any organization. First off, trying allows you to fail with honor. Like the little green dude in Star Wars says, “Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.” Second, you can’t, in reality, hold other people accountable. Trying to hold people accountable is therefore a setup for upset.
"Try not. Do or do not. There is no Try."
You can no more hold people accountable than you can breathe for them. Accountability is an inside job. You can, however, help others learn to be more accountable to themselves as well as others in keeping their commitments.
If you adapt the perspective from the world of financial accounting you see that when you account for something positive (something that is there) you have a credit. If you account for something negative or something that is not present you have a debit. If your final accounting shows more credits than debits you have an asset. If you have more debits you thereby have a liability. People would much rather be viewed as an asset than a liability. They want validation. They seek to feel valued. Show them how they can achieve that.
When it comes to their balance sheet, help them asses if they are an asset or a liability. This can be applied to all areas of life not just work. Regardless of the current score, working together, the balance can be affected. When it comes to the people you lead, help them understand if they are viewed as an asset or a liability to the organization. Get real with regards to who you can and cannot count on. Manage your expectations by counting on the people that can be counted on to keep their commitments because they have the skill and will to do so. Counting on someone that is not accountable nor have the capacity to become accountable is, in essence, not being accountable yourself.
Being accountable is nothing more than keeping a promise. Do you keep your promises? Do your people keep their promises? Most people get in trouble by over committing because they are not okay with saying the word “No” and the story they imagine others associate to the declination. I’m sure you would want to know it’s a “No” now, rather than later. In that way you can plan accordingly. Let the people you lead know that. Furthermore, wouldn’t you rather know it’s a “No” on this particular request and that you can count on a “Yes” to another to which they are capable or accountable? All anybody wants is the truth. People know what the truth is when they make the commitment. They just may not be communicating truthfully. Don’t slip into the trap of dismissing it as it’s part of their job and they should do it. If they’re not doing it, guess what? It’s not their job or perhaps, it’s not their job to have. If you keep someone in a job where they are not performing as expected then you are not doing your job.
The balance sheet will show who can be counted on for doing what they say they will. Having the ability to be counted upon equals accountability. If you can’t be counted on to do what you say you will do, all you have are your excuses. You are a liability. That and $2 will get you a bus ticket to nowhere. However, if you do have the ability to be counted up on, your stock will rise and you will arrive on easy street. No surprise here. People and organizations want assets not liabilities. Be an asset and you will be compensated accordingly. Be a liability and you will eventually meet up with liberation from the situation.
Make it up, make it fun, & make it happen!