When we think about accountability we tend to think about holding others accountable for the work and ideas that we want them to practice. After all, we are paying them money to do a particular job and as the boss we want to make certain that the job gets done accordingly. Interestingly, as much as we worry about this, and are sometimes consumed by fear thinking about people not performing well, we tend to keep it all locked up in our heads where it never has a chance to make any difference accept to make you more anxious, stressed, and angry as you ruminate on how you really want people to do good work. We need to take the ideas and hopes out of the head and into real life. Make accountability a real process by which your desires are known clearly. Only then can you build other systems that serve this vision by equipping people with the resources they need.
Accountability the other way
Accountability does not only go in the direction of boss to employee. In order for it to be effective it must also be from employee to boss. You must make yourself accountable to those you lead in order for them to have the kind of buy in necessary to gain momentum.
If you find you or your employees are avoiding accountability it is a sure sign that you have something to hide. Mainly it means that you are afraid of being found out to be less than engaged in the work whereas if you were engaged nd motivated accountability would be a welcome thing.
Conclusion
In the end, accountability is not just about making sure people do what they are supposed to do. It is a building block and tool to discover both your own and others level of commitment and to give that commitment energy while simultaneously exposing and creating pressure on you or your staff in order to change how you are approaching the work or, in some cases, to separate people from the work as it is not a right fit.
My encouragement to you is to lean into accountability and embrace what it reveals about both yourself and your staff. It may not be immediately pleasant, but it pays off big over time.
-Chris
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