Over the past decade many organizations have invested significant resources in created an 
“environment and culture of accountability”. As the leader of an award-winning talent development consultancy that works with more than 50 large global clients, I have interesting access and insights into what types of training and other initiatives companies are investing in to provide the skills and tools needed to create this accountable world. Literally billions of dollars have been spent on eLearnings, seminars, books, and other materials that teach people how to lead and be accountable.
I recently led a leadership session called Fundamentals of Business Leadership which provides the basic skills new and experienced leaders need to be effective in meeting the goals and objectives for themselves and their teams. In the session, we discuss accountability and what does it mean in the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous business world of today.
In our definition, we see accountability as the responsibility of an employee to successfully complete the tasks they are assigned and meet their specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-based assignments that contribute to the company executing their business strategy.
What I have observed is that most employees demand accountability so that can be in charge of their own performance and destiny at work. The complaints are typically the same when they feel they don’t have accountability:
- “You don’t trust me to do my job, so how can I deliver?”
- “Your micromanaging approach is suffocating.”
- “You say that I am empowered, but you haven’t given me the metrics to know if I’ve been successful.”
In reaction, most leaders do whatever they can to provide the tools needed for their teams and people to operating in the culture of accountability. Unfortunately, one of my other observations is that too many employees don’t know or realize what real accountability is and when they get it, don’t know what to do with it or worse yet abandon it. In other words, for them, accountability is a great, until it isn’t.
Nothing can summarize this perspective better than the following story shared by one of my recent participants:
For months, I was getting feedback that I was micromanaging and not letting people do their jobs the way they wanted. For example, I have this new employee who I believe can someday be a high performer tell me in our monthly one-on-one that he thought I was blocking his ability to grow because I wasn’t giving him the chance to be empowered. He shared that he wanted direct contact with customers and that he felt me having the direct customer relationship was ineffective. I told the employee that on the next project I’d give him have full ownership and accountability. Sure enough, a great project came in and I gave this employee the complete accountability to design the materials to the customer need and then deliver the solution to their plant. About 2 months into the project, I found out the team was significantly behind schedule and had promised deliverables that couldn’t be met. I sat down with the employee with the assumption that he would take accountability for the situation and contact the customer to figure out ways to solve the issues.
To my dismay, this employee came into the meeting with me with the full expectation that as the “boss” I would set up time and speak with the customer. So basically, they all want accountability until things go bad and then all of a sudden, it’s dropped into my lap to fix. This isn’t the first time this has happened and it goes to show that people really don’t know about or want real accountability.”
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this type of story. Based on research, observations, and my own experiences working with leaders, here are three recommendations on how to handle this type of scenario:
Coach the employee and develop the skills to solve the problem
Clearly, the employee in this situation isn’t comfortable handling a difficult conversation with the customer. It’s the best learning opportunity possible and your job as a leader trying to create an environment of accountability is to coach them how to do it.
Do it for the employee and use it as a learning experience
Depending on the situation – such as you might lose the customer – you might have to take control and solve the problem yourself. If you do, don’t get angry or resentful; use it as a learning opportunity.
Let the employee do it all without a net
Again, depending on the situation, there are times you throw them into the pool to see of they can swim. The pressure of solving the problem without a safety net can in some situations be the best learning experience ever.
