Accountability

What does that word mean to you?

I have heard it a lot. Bet you have too!

It is blamed on team failure and for failure in our personal lives. It even comes up as a culture such as, ”we have a culture of accountability” and “no one takes accountability where we work”

I have introduced teams to the concept of an Accountability Agreement. This agreement is not a top down traditional approach. It makes you think about what you want your legacy to be, what do you want people to remember you for and how you are going to contribute to the team..and the most important part, what you are accountable for.

Now, all these things don’t work if the team creates it and doesn’t do any follow up coaching. It is all in the follow up and holding people accountable for what they say they are going to do! And, it does not necessarily mean that the leader is doing the follow up, it of course, is their job to follow up. This agreement gives the opportunity for all the team members to follow up with each other.

This is a commitment that you make not only to the team, but a commitment you make to yourself. It means that you really need to think about what you are giving to the team and what you need from the team.

I believe that it has uses in every relationship that you have. What are you going to give to the relationship and what do you want for the relationship. This is a good starting point to develop a relationship of success and always a great reference point to go back to when things go off the rails, as they sometimes do.

Hazel.