3 Ways to Build Strong Accountability within Your Organization

Posted on July 19th, 2017 by Randall Taussig

Often I hear clients express frustration about lack of accountability within their organizations. Their expectations are usually much higher than what they actually experience. They feel let down by their employees and sometimes even resent them.

Lack of Accountability is a direct result of lack of leadership

Make no mistake; the absence of accountability is solely the responsibility of your leadership team. You cannot make employees accountable, but you can build a culture where accountability is embedded and expected.

When faced with lack of accountability, many consider hiring “better” people.Unfortunately, this can maskother issues that are critical to address. Here are threefactors to consider before even contemplating a people change:

1. Have you shared your Vision (at least 7 times)?

If you don’t regularly share your vision, how can you expect employees to be accountable? They need to know where your organization is going and their part in getting it there. Use the Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO) to help you guide your employees.

2. Are roles & responsibilities crystal clear?

Vagueness of what’s truly expected of your employees leads to mediocre (at best) results. The key is to set up roles that speak the language of “accountability” and lead to very specific results.Then measure and monitor. This helps drive individual and team accountability. The Accountability Chart is the perfect tool to help you keep this on track.

3. Have you put in place the right systems, processes and resources?

Systems and processes are the formalization of your best practices. Your team then knows what it takes to accomplish all that needs accomplishing. By setting the right processes, standards and systems that support best practice, you are setting up employees for success. Also, consider the resource of “time.” Are you spending enough time with each of your direct reports to assure you’re on the same page and they are getting all the support needed to be accountable? Start by identifying and documenting all your Core Processes and you can’t go wrong!

Accountability is not something you can “make” happen. Instead, you must build a culture and infrastructure where it’s expected, supported and embraced. Begin with the three factors above and you’ll most certainly be on the right track!

Leading from the Core