Embracing Accountability: Overcoming Dysfunction #4
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Accountability. It's a term that has been overused, misused and misunderstood in organisations since it came into business parlance. It has gotten a bad rap over time; its association with blame, onus, fault and even guilt, often make it a concept that companies pay lip service to, but never truly embrace.
Genuine accountability, however, is at the core of all successful teams.
When people are accountable for their own decisions, work, and results, the effectiveness of an organisation increases exponentially.
Patrick Lencioni defines accountability as 'the willingness of team members to remind one another when they are not living up to the performance standards of the group'.
Peer-to-Peer Accountability
Peer-to-peer accountability is based on the principle that 'peer pressure' and the fear of letting down one's colleagues motivates team members far more than the fear of judgement from their leaders. Ironically, however, making peer-to-peer accountability a part of organisational culture is a top-down principle that must be modelled by the leadership group.
Embracing accountability is one of the most challenging skills for teams to master. The desire to maintain harmony and the status quo is human nature. People often find themselves thinking 'What gives me the authority to call my peers out on their behaviour?'. This is why leaders need to step up and 'enter the danger' when team members are not performing. It means being willing to step into difficult situations and remind individuals of what they have committed to in terms of actions and results.
This requires leaders mastering behaviours that are linked to high personal accountability, which in turn trickles down through the rest of the team.
Accountability Skills for Leaders
In his research into leadership development, behavioural statistician Joseph Folkman found eight behaviours of leaders that are linked to high personal accountability.
Focus on Results
When leaders are sending multiple, conflicting messages about what is considered critical and individual's responsibilities, accountability can get lost in the confusion. For people to be accountable for their actions, leaders need to define team member's specific duties clearly, resist the urge to micro-manage and hand over control over how results are delivered.
Honesty and Integrity
How does your team react when you ask them how they are progressing on a specific project or task? Are they able to be honest and tell the truth about where they are succeeding and where things may be falling down? Real accountability is about having the courage to tell the truth. This courage needs to be modelled by the leadership group for the team to trust that they can be honest about their work without fear of criticism.
Trust
Trust in the leadership group has been proven to build positive relationships, knowledge, and consistency of leaders.
In Folkman's research he found that when this trust is absent, team members tend to have the following concerns:
They are not confident that their efforts will be rewarded
They suspect their leader may take advantage of them
They tend to question the leader's motives
They believe that management will take credit for their accomplishments
Clear Vision and Direction
Confucius defined the importance of having a clear vision and direction perfectly when he stated 'The man who chases two rabbits, catches neither'. In dysfunctional teams, people are often chasing multiple rabbits and end up catching none. A team that doesn't have a clear understanding of the business vision and values, cannot be expected to be held accountable for their actions. People can't achieve what they don't understand.
Problem Solving Abilities and Technical Expertise
Leaders who offer opportunities for their staff to upskill, while modelling valuable problem-solving techniques will see their team thrive as they take ownership of their roles and responsibilities.
Communication Skills
Effective communication, which includes a constructive, healthy conflict process ensures all team members are on the same page and understand what each person is accountable for on both a macro and micro level.
Collaboration and Conflict Resolution
Further to strong communication skills, leaders of successful teams are experts at facilitating collaboration. In a study at Columbia University, Peter Blow found that teams 'who collaborate and are cooperative are far more successful than those who compete. Cooperation breeds accountability.'
For leaders, conflict resolution skills are crucial to creating a culture of collaboration, where people feel enabled to engage in peer-to-peer accountability.
While peer-to-peer feedback is the key to teams embracing accountability, it begins with leaders modelling the above behaviours. Where there is resistance in a group to feedback to fellow workmates, reminding them 'by holding back, we are hurting not only the team, but the teammates themselves,' leaders can compel people to step into the danger of embracing accountability.
At Infinity HR, we are experts at assisting teams overcome the Five Dysfunctions to create a people-first culture that drives performance and profitability.
Contact Iolanda today on 0400 489 743 or email iolanda@infinityhr.com.au to learn more.