Accountability is Essential for Success
Cathie Leimbach • September 27, 2022
The success of a group relies on high performance from every individual. An important leadership responsibility is positioning the organization and its people for success by helping everyone do their job well. This requires holding people accountable to meeting expectations by communicating clearly and supporting them to be effective.
3 Benefits of Holding Others Accountable
- Greater Clarity of Purpose – When people are clear about the purpose of their work and buy-in to the value the organization provides to society, they have more passion for their job.
- Improved Performance – When people are clear about what is expected of them and know that their work is important enough to be noticed by their supervisor and peers, they are more motivated to do their best.
- Better Team Dynamics – When there is mutual accountability with the leaders fulfilling their responsibilities and all team members working to fulfill theirs, there is a sense of belonging that inspires collaboration and high achievement.
5 Tips for Holding Others Accountable
- Hold Yourself Accountable – Be a visible role model. Follow company rules. Communicate your priorities and achievements to your staff. Keep your promises to them.
- Make Expectations Clear – What do you want each person to achieve at work? What are the standards required for a healthy workplace culture?
- Set Manageable Goals – Be specific about the quantity and quality of results your staff members are expected to achieve each day or week. Provide them with the training and the tools they need to do their work well.
- Offer Constructive Feedback – When a staff member is struggling or underperforming help them to improve. Be curious about what is hindering good performance and provide them support to overcome their challenges. Equip them for success. If they are a right-fit employee for your company but not for their current role, find them a right-fit position.
- Implement Consequences When Necessary – If despite sincere and relevant training and support have been provided to an individual and they are still underperforming, negative consequences will be necessary. Dismissing a wrong-fit employee after offering help to overcome their performance gaps sends the message to others that you really do notice the difference between poor and good performers.
Clear and supportive accountability yields high morale and productivity for personal and organizational success.
In most organizations, the instinct is to add —more goals, more projects, more meetings. But as Juliet Funt, founder of the Juliet Funt Group, teaches in her Strategic Choice process, real leadership strength lies in deciding what to stop doing . Strategic Choice is the intentional narrowing of priorities—cutting away the clutter so teams can focus on what truly drives results. It’s a disciplined act of letting go: saying no to good ideas so there’s room for the great ones. Funt’s approach challenges leaders to pause, think, and create the mental and operational space their people need to perform at their best. By removing unnecessary tasks and misplaced effort, leaders make room for precision, innovation, and real thinking time. This isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters most. When businesses adopt this mindset, they replace overwhelm with clarity and regain control of their time, energy, and outcomes. For small to mid-sized companies, embracing Strategic Choice can transform busyness into focus—and that focus is where sustainable growth begins. Want a quick visual overview? View Strategic Choice: Making Room for What Matters to see how this process helps leaders focus on what truly drives results.
Hey team leaders! Ever wonder why some companies soar while others stumble? Patrick Lencioni's bestseller, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , nails it: workplace dysfunctions such as no trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding accountability, and ignoring results lead to mediocre performance at best. But here's the good news—smart leadership development changes the game! Start with building trust . Train leaders to open up and be vulnerable. Teams bond, ideas flow, and costly mistakes drop. Next, embrace healthy conflict . Teach team leaders to make it safe for team members to share the pros and cons of current or new ways of doing things. This helps everyone understand different perspectives. Then, drive commitment . Leaders who clarify goals, ask everyone to share their level of buy-in, and address their concerns get everyone bought in. People focus on high value work and get more done. . Hold folks accountable through coaching. Leaders learn to give kind, direct feedback by praising good work and calmly providing more training as needed. Turnover plummets and the quality and quantity of work improves. Finally, focus on results . Be clear on expectations. Keep score by monitoring progress weekly or daily. Acknowledge team wins when the goals are met. Winning sports teams pay attention to these Five Behaviors of a Team. How would a World Series winner have been determined this week without trust among the players and coaches, openness to tough coaching, the whole team working together, players focusing on their specific positions, and getting players around the bases to get the top score? Every workplace can benefit from these team behaviors as well. Lencioni's research proves it: Companies who prepare their leaders to overcome these 5 common workplace dysfunctions, improve the culture and see huge financial gains. Invest in your leaders today. Your bottom line will thank you! Click here to learn more about the painful cost of team dysfunction.