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Accountability = Reliability.
Reliable results and reliable relationships are the payoff for building an accountable team culture.
At its core, accountability is really about specificity–specific expectations, specific consequences, specific language and specific coaching. When specificity increases, miscommunication, frustration and rework decrease.
So, the gears of your accountability engine are expectations, consequences, language and coaching. The oil that enables these gears to run rapidly and smoothly is specificity.
To boost accountability, broaden your definition of consequences. We tend to think of consequences in terms of the short-term, immediate impact of our performance (positive or negative). That’s the easy part of defining specific consequences. But it still leaves a lot to the imagination. You need to help employees see and understand the longer-term, downstream impact of their performance on team results, on the organization, on customers, on shareholders and ultimately on themselves.
When employees see how their actions help or hinder each of their various constituents, the personal consequences of their performance become self-evident. External performance is ultimately a reflection of internal commitment. The personal impact to an employee might include opportunities for more (or fewer if the performance is substandard) promotions, development opportunities, exposure to executives, public recognition, responsibilities, flexibility in the job, oversight of others, ownership of projects and/or financial rewards. It is fair and appropriate to bring personal performance full circle back to these consequences.
Our clients have found it useful to follow this Circle of Consequences with respect to their own leadership behavior, particularly when they face tough situations. It illuminates the impact of their actions (or lack thereof) on various constituents and usually moves them from choosing avoidance to choosing courage.
Even on the most productive teams, there will be instances when we have to muster leadership courage to address performance problems and ensure appropriate consequences. Elaine Agather is head of JPMorgan Private Bank’s South Region. She is a beloved and direct leader who understands the big picture of consequences as it relates to her role as a leader. Agather states, “The team is bigger than any issue at hand. The leader has a personal accountability to the team to have tough conversations and to occasionally make tough decisions with individuals.”
Winning leaders like Agather choose their team over personal discomfort. It reminds us of my son’s former football coach, Chris Cunningham, who would preach this same leadership concept of “team over me” with this visual:
TEAM / me
The need of the team is always bigger than your own discomfort.
When employees see how their actions help or hinder each of their various constituents, the personal consequences of their performance become self-evident.
External performance is ultimately a reflection of internal commitment. The personal impact to an employee might include opportunities for more (or fewer if the performance is substandard) promotions, development opportunities, exposure to executives, public recognition, responsibilities, flexibility in the job, oversight of others, ownership of projects and/or financial rewards. It is fair and appropriate to bring personal performance full circle back to these consequences.
Our clients have also found it useful to follow the Circle of Consequences with respect to their own leadership behavior, particularly when they face tough situations. It illuminates the impact of their actions (or lack thereof) on various constituents and usually moves them from choosing avoidance to choosing courage.
As with expectations, when you specifically explain the consequences of individual performance up front, you minimize the tough conversations later on.
For more tips on building a more reliable team, read Stick with It: Mastering the Art of Adherence. 
Copyright © 2015 by The L Group, Inc.
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