By Chad Kearns
Sparked, Fired Up! Culture’s every-other-week newsletter, is focused on what drives culture and engagement in the workplace. This newsletter is for leaders who are ready to get intentional about bringing their team together, building engagement, and harnessing the power of culture to build high-performing teams. Sign up here to get every edition of Sparked delivered straight to your inbox.
Spark your Team by Holding Yourself Accountable
Accountability can be a touchy subject in organizations.
Cynically, everyone wants those around them to be highly accountable for their commitments but when it comes to themselves, well, the desire for self-leeway tends to be higher.
Most agree that accountability is crucial in highly engaged cultures, but many leaders wrestle with how to build accountability while still leading with empathy and understanding. In doing so, driving team members’ accountability can be difficult to do.
For leaders struggling to balance everything that goes into the accountability conversation, here’s where to start: lead by example and hold yourself accountable.
Yes, organizational accountability starts with holding yourself accountable.
The standard a leader sets, for better or worse, is the standard your team will emulate.
Leaders effectively set the example by taking responsibility for their actions, following through on their commitments, and keeping their promises. Leaders set the standard for a highly accountable team.
Setting the example accomplishes three critical outcomes:
- It drives positive change and outcomes through the work accomplished
- It models the correct behavior for others to follow and sets the standard
- It empowers leadership to coach and develop those struggling with individual accountably
Holding others accountable is another topic for another edition of this newsletter. Today, it’s all about holding yourself accountable to bring your team together, build engagement, and harness the power of culture to build a high-performing team.
Looking for ways to fire up your team members and build a high-performing team?
Set the example and hold yourself accountable.
Take Action to Hold Yourself Accountable
Still trying to figure out where to start? Here’s how to take action today:
- Know What you Owe: Following through well and holding yourself highly accountable starts with knowing everything you are responsible for. Hopefully, most of those items are clear. More likely than not, there are some items where ownership is unclear. Ruthlessly work to clarify what is needed, when it’s needed, and who is responsible for taking ownership of it.
- Organize the Chaos: ‘What you Owe’ can likely be characterized as “a lot”. And it can be really difficult to keep it all straight. There is no one best way to organize it all. Find what works best for you. Build a routine to organize the chaos. Doing so makes following through so much easier.
- Follow Through: Here’s where we get down to brass tacks. Simply, follow through. Easier said than done. Organizing the chaos will help your ability to get through everything. Defend your calendar. Build the necessary space in your week to get to all of it. Expert-level self-discipline and time management are what give you the ability to follow through well consistently.
- Take Ownership on Oversights: No one should reasonably expect perfection. Oversights are going to happen. Mistakes will be made. It happens. It’s okay. But how you respond to those oversights is important. Take ownership. Avoid excuses. Resist blaming others. And most importantly, figure out how to right what’s been missed.
Further Exploration on Holding Yourself Accountable
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