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How do you really hold someone accountable? Part 2

by Rick Baker
On Sep 3, 2015

Link to Part 1

Recently, my friend asked me, "How do you really hold someone accountable?"

While I have written about Accountability on a number of occasions, I have never been asked or answered that straightforward question. To begin my answer, I posted some ‘general’ thoughts in ‘Part 1’. Now, I’m posting some ‘specific’ suggestions.

1. Lead by example. As the leader, understand how you hold yourself accountable and ensure you are leading by example before working to improve followers’ accountability.

2. Ensure followers know WHY. Express your views clearly. Tell accountability stories and provide visual cues. For example, U.S. President Harry S. Truman felt accountability was so important he kept a sign on his desk in the Oval Office that read, “The buck stops here”. He wanted his followers to know he accepted ultimate responsibility for decisions…he wanted his followers to really hold themselves accountable.

3. Communicate a “Master Rule”. If you hold accountability very dearly – if accountability is one of the top 5 most important things you want your followers to embrace – then create a “Master Rule” to make your strong view crystal clear. You could, for example, borrow Harry S. Truman’s “The buck stops here”. Clearly, Truman wanted his followers to view that as one of his Master Rules. Tell stories to illustrate WHY you have chosen to have a Master Rule covering accountability.

4. Recruit with accountability in mind. Talk to job candidates about accountability. Share your stories. Ask job candidates if they have stories of accountability etched in their minds.

5. Use job descriptions as accountability tools. Ensure your Role Descriptions signal accountability messages. Role Descriptions should be clear and concise, covering:

  • 5-7 Task Areas – with each Task Area described in a short phrase
  • 5-7 Goals – one SMART Goal for each Task Area…aligned with department Goals & company Goals
  • Communication – deliver formal feedback on performance vis-à-vis Goals, at least twice per year

6. Talk about accountability at every meeting. For example, select one department/company Goal for each meeting and have each follower commit to perform at least 1 specific action and report on that action at the next meeting. Follow up. As this meeting process is initiated, visit followers 1-on-1 in advance of the next meeting and ask about action taken. Explain WHY you completed your specific action items and HOW you will report them at the next meeting.

7. Address violations. Plan how you will address ‘accountability shortfalls’ because your followers will, from time to time, fail to complete actions as agreed. Address shortfalls immediately…help your followers understand you will not ignore accountability shortfalls. Escalate your feedback to 'corrective measures' if followers illustrate repeated ‘accountability shortfalls’.

Consider the above suggestions if you want your followers to really hold themselves accountable.

And, of most importance, hold yourself most accountable as you lead by example.

Link to Part 3

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Communication: Improving Communication | Goals - SMARTACRE Goals | Influencing | Leaders' Thoughts | Master Rules

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How do you really hold someone accountable? – Part 1

by Rick Baker
On Sep 1, 2015

Recently, my friend asked me, "How do you really hold someone accountable?"

I decided to post some 'general' thoughts rather than provide a 'specific' answer to my friend.

First, I think leaders and bosses who really want to help others become accountable should ask themselves, "How do I really hold myself accountable? The answer to that question will provide at least some guidance and perhaps much more…

"How do I really hold myself accountable?" If, after some self-analysis, I determine I do not hold myself accountable then I must accept I have little hope of holding others accountable or helping others become accountable. Accountability has some similarity to Trust – if leaders do not lead by example then they cannot expect their followers to perform under a higher standard.

"How do I really hold myself accountable?" I believe I am blessed with “accountability genes”. I believe I am predisposed to be more accountable than most people…including most other Baby Boomers who also experienced schooling and neighbourhoods laced with accountability feedback. If you believe you have a strong dose of “accountability genes” the messages to follow may resonate with you. If, on the other hand, you believe you are not blessed with “accountability genes” then you may think everything to follow is hogwash.

[If you think “accountability genes” is a poor description then use words like “naturally inclined to be accountable”.]

Going a step farther…

"How do you really hold yourself accountable?" Consider the impact of relaying that question to the people who follow you. As Covey taught, Seek First to Understand. Don’t assume other people view accountability the way you do and don’t assume the accountability tactics that work for you will work for others. Don’t assume you can read other people's minds. And, consider the impact of asking your followers if they think they are ‘naturally’ more inclined to be accountable than their business associates…or their close friends. Listen to their answers. Observe their body language as they speak.

To breed a culture of accountability…

Understand the ‘lay of the land’. Hold a short communication session, where ‘Accountability’ is the only topic. Learn what your people are thinking about accountability in your workplace. Learn what your people are thinking about your performance in the area of accountability. Depending on the state of communication [and stress] at your workplace, it may take a number of sessions to generate the open discussion that will ensure you have enough understanding of the ‘lay of the land’.

Listen and learn. At the risk of being too graphic – shut up, listen, and learn. When it comes to topics like Accountability, most people have minimal interest and minds resistant to advice [let alone lectures and mandates]. Now, if your followers visit your office regularly and ask you to help them be more accountable then please ignore those last 3 sentences…and do not read Part 2 of this thought post because you possess far more Accountability savvy than I.

Key Points:

If you want to really hold others accountable then make sure you lead by example.

If you want to really hold others accountable then make sure you know their views about the topic before expressing your views or forcing your views on them.

Recognize some people are naturally more inclined to be accountable* than others. So, your approach to helping people become more accountable must be designed to cover this fact of life.

 

* Some people possess strong natural ability in the areas of self-monitoring and self-regulating. For accountability, these people possess a natural advantage.

Link to Part 2

Link to Part 3

 

 

 

 

Tags:

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Willpower converts mind-energy into Achievement

by Rick Baker
On Aug 31, 2015

For achievement, three qualities of mind rise above the others: intelligence, drive, and self-control.

There are two types of intelligence: cognitive and emotional.

Drive is all about energy...required to sustain thought, action, and 'the body'.

Self-control draws on the decisions of intelligence and the energy stoked by drive...self-control is about self-direction of thought and the actions that follow thought.

Willpower is a synonym for self-control*.

Willpower is elite mind-work…challenging mind-work.

Willpower converts mind-energy into Achievement.

Achievement is subjective. Achievement provides the measuring stick for Success. Each person uses his or her intelligence to define the Achievement required to obtain the Success he or she desires. This applies to individual/single tasks. This also applies to long-term goals. Willpower may or may not be called upon to perform individual/single tasks: for enjoyable tasks [such as hobbies] little or no willpower is required; for challenging tasks willpower will be used to expand and maintain concentration; for boring tasks willpower will be used to improve focus and concentration.

Willpower will definitely be called upon to achieve long-term goals. In summary:

  • We use our intelligence to create our long-term goals
  • We draw on the our drive energy to fuel the thought and action required to meet our long-term goals
  • We call upon willpower/self-control to direct our thoughts and actions toward our long-term goals

When we call upon our willpower it consumes energy, converting mind-energy into Achievement and, over time, into Success.

To achieve long-term goals we must attend to our energy levels: taking steps to build it, taking steps to avoid things that waste it, and taking steps to ensure a good portion of it goes to fuel willpower.

 

*  Some describe willpower in terms of 'soul' and 'spirit'. Not wanting to dwell too much in the metaphysical...there is no question willpower is a special thing, closely tied to the human condition.

Tags:

Brain: about the Human Brain | Definitions - Spirited Words Defined | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Goals - SMARTACRE Goals | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things

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The Bi-Polarity of Our Thoughts...and what to do about it

by Rick Baker
On Aug 27, 2015

Thoughts range from the sublime to the hideous, from blissful to terrifying.

Thoughts range from tiny and fleeting to all-consuming and ground-breaking.

Thoughts range from inspiring to spirit-crushing.

Thoughts could be placed on a Plus-Minus Scale...the negative thoughts being at one end of the scale and the positive thoughts being at the other end, with neutral/blasé thoughts in the middle.

If we spend the time to place our thoughts on a Plus-Minus Scale then we would see visible proof that thoughts tend to be bi-polar. Many thoughts would be classed as positive or negative and few thoughts would be classed as 'neutral'. That is, we would see the bi-polarity of our thoughts.

Our thoughts tend to flip from positive to negative...with negative thoughts outnumbering the positive thoughts.

Of course, to do this thought-sorting exercise we would have to define positive thoughts, negative thoughts, and neutral/blasé thoughts.

A recommendation for sorting thoughts...

  • positive thoughts align with long-term goals & purpose [accompanied by positive, energizing feelings...for example - 'building' thoughts]
  • negative thoughts no not align with long-term goals & purpose [accompanied by negative, de-energizing feelings...for example - worries]
  • neutral/blasé thoughts...not tested against goals or purpose [accompanied by no clear feelings...for example - daydreams]

The problem with our bi-polarity of thoughts: Left to perform without controls, our minds are free to ride on thought [and emotion] roller-coasters...essentially, without our help our minds multi-task or task-slice their way through an endless stream of thought ups and downs...with the downs outnumbering the ups…chewing up our energy and our attitude.

The solution to reduce our bi-polarity of thoughts: Believe you have the ability to choose your thoughts...then, make a life-long practice of honing that thought-mastery skill.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change | Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | Thinking as in Think and Grow Rich

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Victim or Victor?

by Rick Baker
On Aug 26, 2015

"Our circumstances and environment are formed by our thoughts."

 Charles Haanel

‘The Master Key’, (1917)

 

*** 

You either believe that, disbelieve it, or you are not quite sure. 

Only one of those three choices excuses you from an obligation to exercise your power of will. 

Only one of those three choices places your success firmly in your hands - and before that, firmly in your thoughts.

The following 'picture' comes to mind...

When I was a child, adults used a saying, "It takes all kinds". That saying was uttered in response to someone else acting in a strange way. It was a quick way of signaling the fact people behave in many different ways. That is true: people do behave in very different ways. Often, regardless of their deep beliefs, people behave in very different and unpredictable ways. And, sometimes people behave in fickle, inconsistent ways.

In fact, when you really stop and observe, people are walking/talking contradictions. If that were not the case then we wouldn't have had tom come up with that admonition, "Talk the talk and walk the walk".

Back to, or at least toward, the point behind this post...

Every rational person, at least to a degree, behaves in ways that confirm belief in the view that our circumstances and environment are formed by our thoughts. Every rational person knows that thought precedes action, some of the time if not most of the time. And, every rational person knows that tomorrow’s ‘future circumstances and environment’ are affected by today’s actions, some of which are the consequences of today’s [or yesterday’s] thoughts.

So, every rational person embraces [at least to a small degree] the ‘Law of Attraction’.

And, every rational person places at least a small amount of belief in ‘Power of Will’.

It is only a matter of degree…

...and how we intend to put this belief to good, constructive use.

Tags:

Abundance | Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change | Habits: Good Habits, Bad Habits, & New Things | Personalities @ Work | Thinking as in Think and Grow Rich

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About forcing change and whipping people

by Rick Baker
On Aug 24, 2015

“All violence consists in some people forcing others, under threat of suffering or death, to do what they do not want to do.”

Leo Tolstoy

***


But…if you must use your whip…beware…you must first put it to use on yourself so everyone knows how strictly you embrace leading by example.

Otherwise, your humbled subjects will think [and likely not say]:

The big problem isn't that you whip people. That's a small piece of a bigger problem. The big problem is that you whip people while you are making mistakes.  How can you be so skilled at whipping other people's mistakes while you are so poor at whipping your own?

Put another way, when people know you can perform in accordance with your own whip they will follow your example...at least for a time. Similarly, when they know you cannot abide by your whip they will follow your example.

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | Criticism: Constructive Criticism is an Oxymoron

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