When People Are Not Delivering

Here’s the accountability question we chose this week from one of our readers:

“As a leader, I think it’s important for us to believe in the best of our staff and to expect the best out of them… what is the most effective way of holding people accountable if they aren’t getting the results you expect of them?”

First of all, no one likes a surprise attack. They may prove effective against the enemy, but there is no place for them among friends. When people are not able to anticipate and predict accountability, then, when the moment of accountability comes, they feel victimized and taken advantage of. This is even more the case when people are not getting the results you expect of them.

Unfortunately, the accountability experience is most often a negative one when it happens in response to managing unmet expectations. If expecting the best of your staff means accountability only comes up as a topic when things are not going well, then those conversations will be much harder to have.

Establishing strong Accountability Connections as a part of the daily working relationship will ensure a continuing dialogue around accountability that will serve you well when things are working and when they are not. These connections are based on both direct and indirect experience with you and are seen as either positive or negative. These experiences accumulate over time and affect people’s response when accountability for results becomes an issue.

Try asking these questions to determine the strength of your Accountability Connections:

1. Overall, do you feel we have a positive or negative connection?
2. If our connection were negative, how negative would it be (on a scale from 1-10)?
3. Can you suggest ways in which I might improve my connection with you?

Creating strong connections will provide the foundation needed for the right conversations when expectations are unmet and will help you hold people accountable in a way that is positive and principled.

To submit your accountability question or issue, go to www.partnersinleadership.com/, then click on “Leave a comment,” at the end of the blog. If your submission turns into an Oz Principle blog, we will send you an autographed book of your choice—The Oz Principle, Journey to the Emerald City, or How Did That Happen?