How do you hold people accountable without being a chop?
The Leadership Conversation
by Coach Colin | Eastern Cape, South Africa
“I’m so tired of talking to you about this”
These must be the most often muttered words from tired managers across open plan office plains from the Boksburg boardroom to the Cape Town cubicle. And by plenty of parents too.
Getting your people to do what they’re supposed to do on the job description, is one of the biggest people problems that leaders face.
Let’s start off with this reflection:
Do your employees know exactly what they’re accountable for… or are you just assuming they should know?
Quote of the day: “Clarity is kindness.” — Brené Brown
Being a leader in a team that knows and does what they are supposed to do is easy. When the chips are down, its’s another matter. And I believe this is where you (yes you) need to step up to the plate.
This is why you’re paid the big bucks to be a manager.
It’s not the perks, the position and the pot plant in the corner office.
It is how you lead the unwilling or the unable.
Everything else is just managing bits and bobs.
Now there are several puzzle pieces that fit together to create a picture of harmonious productivity and motivation in the workplace. It helps to unpack the elements separately, but know that they blend, link and overlap continuously with a push and a pull towards each other in a fluid state.
These elements are concepts such as EQ, Leadership Style, Motivations, Culture, Communication styles, Personalities, Standard Operating Procedures and Accountabilities to name a few. It’s simple enough. But if it were easy we’d all be champions at it.
I’m going to attempt to deal only with a framework for Accountability in this article.
First, I want to dispel a couple of misconceptions on how we think about accountability and shift our MINDSET with some definitions and terminology.
“I don’t want to be a Micromanager”
When I hear leaders complain about employees who won’t or don’t do as they’re asked, I often uncover fears of being an ‘authoritarian chop’;
- The mean Boss who rules with an iron fist.
- Or becoming a micro-manager like a facsimile of your own ex-boss
Accountability isn’t about control or punishment. It’s about clarity. However, Micromanagers obsess over control – leaning over shoulders to tell people how to do it, and sometimes re-doing it themselves, because “then it’s right”.
Great leaders obsess over clarity and expectations. “Clarity is kindness”
They give authority and autonomy and then they follow up. Following up IS NOT micromanaging. When we shift our mindset to “I’m here to make expectations clear, not to catch you out,” accountability becomes less about punishment and more about ownership. Employees will step up when they know what stepping up looks like.
And when they know, that you will tell them if they did right, or if they didn’t – then they will follow through.
When I was young and beardless I worked on a cruise ship. On inspection nights, myself and a mate had to meticulously clean the bar before I could clock out and go to bed. I would call my supervisor when I was confident that all was clean.
He would inspect.
He would look in cupboards and under counters.
He would find one piece of dirt…
Then he would say, in his Jamaican lilt “clean dat boss, call me when y’ done mon.” And off he’d go to inspect another area 3 decks and 200m away.
And the cycle would repeat itself for everything we missed and he found, stretching my bedtime later, and later.
Ok look he WAS being a bit of a chop. He could have pointed out ALL the dirt, I know he took a certain relish to torturing us.
But clean is clean, and expectations were set.
Just please don’t be a chop like him.
“Initiative”
Another myth-conception: I hate to tell you this… but if you’re saying “use your initiative”, without defining what good looks like…
You’re outsourcing your leadership and just wishing they’ll be proactive.
As a Leader you must define what the end-result should look like and then set boundaries for decision making if you want employees to take initiative.
Example:
“There’s the mountain top, figure out how, and plant our flag on it by Friday, use Sally from Accounts to help you, don’t break any equipment doing it”
Here’s a thought to reflect on;
“How are you rewarding inaction, and punishing proaction?”
- “Ah thank you for taking the initiative to do that report – here’s some more mundane work” – If that sounds familiar, it’s punishment.
- Are you giving less work to “lazy” staff? (that’s a reward), or perhaps you’re just doing it yourself?
“I’ll just do it myself”
It’s a Trap!
We do work of the subordinate, thinking we’re being kind, sometimes because “ag shame they can’t handle it”
Or because it’s just quicker, easier and more accurate (because they’re “lazy” right?).
What we’re doing is robbing them of independence, self-worth, growth and a sense of responsibility.
It is the least kind thing you can do.
Also … just putting it out there … are you being compensated financially to do their work as well as yours?
*Gasp!*
“You’re not??”
Those are examples of when we fail at creating accountability.
“Accountability”
When we make a commitment, we become answerable for our actions and are willing to be held to a standard, whether by others or yourself.
So, Accountability is taking ownership of outcomes.
Whether they’re good or bad.
A simple definition of personal accountability:
“I said I would. I did.
“Or if I didn’t, I own that and make it right.”
And in a business context with teams, accountability isn’t about blame. It’s about clarity, ownership, and follow-through. These are the foundations of trust and performance.
Here’s how a conversation might sound;
“We’ve agreed on this thing YOU have to do,”
“We’ll check in so there’s no drifting from the commitment,”
“I’m here to help you succeed if something slips and we will look for solutions, not excuses”
SKILL SET: The tools of clarity and consequence
To be a good leader, you can’t wing it. You must build systems.
You must learn how to have goal-setting conversations – to set, and agree on expectations clearly and in writing. Align KPIs to real outcomes and use tools like scorecards or shared checklists.
Here EQ and understanding communication styles are pivotal to conversations.
Also: You’re an adult and you must face the consequences of your decisions, and indecisions. And this is where I see some leaders fail, they wrap serious situations in soft words, pleasantries and niceties.
Giving Feedback is a skill. I’ve written before about a simple framework for giving feedback (links below)
What if a lot of commitments or standards are not met?
Here the dreaded word “disciplinary measures” rears its ugly head. And the topic deserves its own article.
Simply put. Stop wrapping poor performance feedback up in pleasantries. Clarity here is as important. Accountability is a coaching conversation with forward thinking ‘next steps’.
If there is no Recognition for good performance, and no Consequences for poor performance there will be no accountability.
ACTIVITY: Practice weekly follow-through, not surprise attacks
If you only talk about performance when someone messes up, you’re not leading, you’re reacting. Set a rhythm:
Weekly / by-weekly 1-on-1s.
Monthly reviews.
Quick huddles.
Every conversation is a chance to say:
“This is what we agreed. This is what happened. So now, what’s next?”
Keep it consistent. Keep it adult-to-adult. And if someone misses the mark, don’t ghost the issue — go toward it.
Follow up early and often and don’t leave feedback for the end of the quarter (or the next braai) Because the best performers want feedback if… It is timely, fair, and helps them improve.
A great piece of advice that came up in a Peer Board; “Be soft on people, hard on process”. In other words, use empathy appropriate to the situation, but don’t compromise on standards.
Wrap-Up
Accountability isn’t a whip, it’s more like a mirror.
As a leader, your job is to hold it up clearly, consistently, and kindly.
The moment expectations are unclear, you’re not managing performance, you’re managing assumptions, and you can’t hold people accountable with assumptions.
3 Key Takeaways
- Accountability is setting expectations and taking ownership of outcomes, good or bad.
- As a leader you are accountable for the development of our team, don’t rob them of the opportunity to grow and learn from mistakes.
- Regular feedback turns expectations into habits and promotes accountability.
Final Quote
“You can delegate tasks, but never responsibility.” — John C. Maxwell
This was a longer article, than normal for me. I had to be careful of not overloading it. Hope you enjoyed it.
If you liked this newsletter, please like, share, and comment.
If you want to learn more about hosting a workshop on this topic or simply have a conversation over coffee about it, feel free to send me a message.
You can send me Colin Carmody a DM, or contact me here.
PS: Here’s links to related writing.
Elevate Your Business with a Forward-Thinking Attitude Read here
How not to screw up giving feedback Read here and TL:DR version here