How many times have you mentioned the word accountability and looks of horror come across the faces of the people you are speaking with? I was in the middle of a conversation recently and the topic came up. Accountability. People are expected to do something, they aren’t quite clear what the expectation is, then get punished when the results don’t happen. Yikes! No wonder people hate the word.
I love accountability. To me it means shared expectations. Everyone knows what the goals are and signs up to make them happen. And like anything else, it is a two way street. The people involved have a dialogue, clarify questions, agree on what is achievable, what help might be needed to be successful, and what success looks like. Along the way, there are checkpoints to make sure alignment still exists on progress against the expectations. If done well, performance would be recognized in performance appraisals and annual salary increases and bonuses. There should be no surprises at the end. Good performance is rewarded and poor performance is corrected.
How are you establishing a culture of accountability? Is everyone sharing in the dialogue? What else can you do to get the results you desire?