If you are a high achiever you are accountable for results. You say what you will do and ask others to hold you to it.
In an organization the person who holds you accountable would be your manager. But if you are in business for yourself you must hold yourself accountable. One way to do that is to have an accountability partner. Creating a culture of accountability requires collaboration, communication of goals, and understanding the nature of motivation.
Having conversations about accountability with your partner requires several things. First, you need to communicate the goals and the desired outcomes. Second, you must be truthful and be totally transparent regarding challenges and obstacles. Third, you must be open about your mistakes and what you have learned from them. Honest and direct conversations need to occur if you expect the right outcome. When you have these conversations with your accountability partnera team member is part of those conversations collaboration will occur.
On the other hand, if your are a team leader or an accountability partner consider the importance of your role. Consider what happens if you have someone who needs to speak up and offer opinions but fears doing so? The results can be devastating when we fail to have these accountability discussions.
The book, “Crucial Confrontations”, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzer really talks about this topic. How do we handle missed commitments, failed promises, and bad behavior with regard to our staff, our boss, our spouse, our children, or any other relationship?
The way I see it the decision to hold an accountability conversation is similar to the goal setting process. Why do you want to do it? What will be the benefits of doing it? What will be the consequences of not doing it? What obstacles might you encounter in striving to achieve it? Then how will you communicate when a promise has not been fulfilled or where the disappointment occurred. The book points out where a lack of confrontation resulted in tragedy.
Do you remember the Challenger disaster in 1986 when 7 American astronauts were lost in the Florida sky? Investigators later determined that the 0 rings failure had been responsible for the explosion. It was later learned that several months before the disaster, some NASA scientists were concerned that the 0 rings might malfunction in colder weather. But they never confronted the chain of command at NASA. The culture at NASA was such that those who brought up obstacles might not have continued career success. Here, lack of confrontation truly resulted in tragedy.
Do you really want to be frustrated over missed commitments, broken promises, or bad behavior? It not I suggest that you understand your personal vision and values. When an issue arises, frame the real issue. For example, if the problem is consistent lateness with projects do you frame it as lateness or do you frame it as continued broken promises and reliability. If you need to inform your manager about an important failure you see in the organization do so in the same manner. Learn to have frank and honest conversations about accountability. Above all be accountable to yourself and your values. Read a similar post on our web site titled WHO IS HOLDING YOU ACCOUNTABLE?
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