Holding People Accountable

“We have got to start holding people accountable for results…” 

Don’t we all aspire to lead teams that are driven and accountable; highly focused on results…operating with a sense of urgency in an environment of trust?

Leaders often short-shift their thinking about what truly motivates and drives their team members to perform. Fear can work for a while, but you either lose people or they stay and you lose any real creativity they may possess. “Holding people accountable” also has some good short term (surface) merit ... .but if they don’t really (really) understand and buy into the mission it ends up dissipating. 

So what is the answer? I don’t know. It depends on the people. 

How do you find out the answer? It’s simple but not easy. 

• Spend the time you need to with your team up front - individually and as a group…creating clarity on what success looks like and by when. Who are the stakeholders? What do they care about / not care about? What is in it for the team and each individual, if they deliver stellar results? What are the potential roadblocks? What is our communication plan? Are there other teams working on something similar? 

• Think about each person - ask yourself: “What matters most to them? Where have they succeeded in the past? Where have I seen them light up? What frustrates them?” Don’t make the mistake of confusing your motivators with theirs. 

You will find your path and your answer if you spend even 20 minutes mapping out a specific game plan for the role you will need to play.

If you miss this step, you are managing by hope.