3 Levers To Drive Accountability

3 Levers To Drive Accountability

One of the main concerns and the source of frustration for CEOs and Leaders, when we start working with them, is Accountability.

“We need to keep people more accountable” is a sentence we hear repeatedly. If this is something you’re currently saying (or thinking), you’re not alone.

Whilst there are many views on how to address accountability, a simple and proven approach will give you momentum and a way to measure and evolve.

So let’s dive in.

Mapping your team members in a 2×2 graph like the example below, will give us a visual aid of your team members’ accountability levels, relative to behaviour and productivity. 

Most of the leadership teams I work with go through this mapping process asking themselves the following questions.

• Behaviour axis: How consistently is the person behaving in line with our company Core Vales? (None of the time – Almost all the time)
• Performance axis: How consistently is the person delivering as per the role expectations? (Below expectations – Exceeds expectations)

In the top right quadrant, we have those who consistently perform based on your expectations and consistently behave in line with your company’s Core Values. Let’s call them your high performers. 

In the top left quadrant, we map those who consistently behave in line with your company’s Core Values, but need coaching or training to be at the level of the expected productivity.

In the bottom right quadrant, we map the people who, although productive, need behavioural correction (a.k.a. Toxic performers). 

And finally, in the bottom left quadrant, we map the people who are not performing or behaving in line with our company’s Core Values. The longer those people stay in your company, the more they will piss off the high performers, putting your company’s productivity at risk. 

As leaders, one of our responsibilities is to build high-performance teams and help them succeed. And having worked with leadership teams for years, there are three consistent reasons why people don’t perform as expected.

 

1. Necessary skills to succeed

The first reason is the lack of skills to succeed in their role. This could be, for example,  due to a recent promotion or new processes and technology the company has been implementing. In that case, agreeing with them on a training and coaching program could be a starting point. 

 

2. Understanding of how to succeed

The second reason is the lack of understanding, or ambiguity, of how to succeed in their role. The expected results, KPIs and priorities expected for the role. In this scenario, I found that aligning on two key measures of success for the role and quarterly priorities helps the person with accountability.  

 

3. Willingness to succeed

And the third reason is the willingness to succeed. Do they want to learn, lead and evolve in the role, along with the company? Especially if the person is a leader, do they see their role as a job or as a responsibility?

Having the main reason for their lack of performance clear will help us create a specific and tailored action plan to help them perform as per your expectations. 

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help you to build a great business, contact us for a chat.