WorkMatters Tips Issue #40 – March 11,2008
Publisher: Gayle Lantz mailto:lantz@workmatters.com
https://workmatters.com
WorkMatters, Inc.
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A quick tip to help leaders and executives who need to motivate their teams and themselves, and catapult their business.
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Building Personal Accountability
Recently I facilitated a client meeting where a few people in the room were debating the meaning of "personal accountability." Key people in the organization had identified personal accountability as being a most important candidate trait to assess when hiring a person for a specific job. Yet,they were having trouble agreeing on what that really meant. The conversation was a good exercise.
In your own business, some people believe if they have "done their part,"that’s good enough. If something goes wrong in the rest of the process, it’s someone else’s fault. Others are more willing to assume responsibility for the consequences of their own decisions and actions.
Just because you all hear the same message about accountability doesn’t mean it has the same meaning to everyone.
As a manager, leader or owner of the business, you’re ultimately accountable for the success of the business. Help others in your organization increase their level of accountability for helping the business grow and thrive.
Try this 15 minute challenge…
Every week, take 15 minutes with your team to address these issues:
Week #1 What can we do to be of better service to our clients, customers, patients, subscribers, etc?
Week #2 What can we do to improve internal systems, operations or procedures?
Week #3 What can we do to improve how we are functioning as a team?
Week #4 What can we each do to grow and develop ourselves so we can be most effective in our respective roles?
Be sure to get commitment on what the first action step will be in each case. The idea is to get quick responses that enable you to make small improvements over time. You’re looking for one simple idea you or your team can implement right away.
Imagine if you could implement just one new idea every week, or every month? By asking these kinds of questions, you will help others on your team assume greater accountability. Otherwise, they’ll keep turning to you for all the answers or worse, pointing their finger at you when things go wrong.
PS — If interested in reading about personal accountability related to small teams in particular, read my latest blog post at:
http://gaylelantz.typepad.com/weblog/2008/03/small-teams-get.html
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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE:
The trouble with this country is that there are too many people going about saying,"The trouble with this country is…"
~ Sinclair Lewis
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Reprinted from "WorkMatters Tips," a free ezine produced by Gayle Lantz featuring tips for leaders and executives who want to grow themselves, their team and their business. Subscribe at
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