ABCs for Managers Who Lead: H is for Hold Accountable

h is for hold accountable
Photo credit: MSH Staff
     Photo credit: MSH Staff

To “hold accountable” is to measure someone’s performance relative to their responsibilities based on some fair indicator. That person is expected to deliver the result that they have agreed to produce.

Let’s start with holding yourself accountable. Do you have certain standards that you measure yourself against? Maybe you measure yourself in terms of the level of education you achieve, the types or levels of jobs you hold and the quality of your work, the salary you receive, the number of children or friends you have, or the number of books you read a year.

How do you hold yourself accountable to meet these standards? What happens when you don’t achieve these standards? You may have to make a new plan to overcome the obstacles in your way and implement it or you could re-assess your standards to ensure that they are realistic.
What happens if you do meet your standards? Do you celebrate or buy yourself a small gift or eat a special meal or…? We each have our own ways of rewarding ourselves.

It is much more difficult to hold others accountable, but it follows the same logic. With others we need an objective standard, or indicator, against which to measure the other person’s performance. These indicators should be included in the position description, a separate official document, such as a performance appraisal, or may be informally agreed on by you and other team members.

Holding accountable and doing it well

  • Establish objective standards with indicators.
  • Set reasonable performance goals.
  • Provide regular and frequent feedback. People need to know how they are performing to allow them to correct their course and, if necessary, raise their personal standards.
  • Provide encouragement. Be positive regarding the person’s ability to meet the work standards and offer coaching as a way the person can expand her abilities.

See for yourself

More on Holding Accountable

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