8 Critical Behaviors That Leverage Accountability

Based on the research of Zenger Folkman

Raisingthebaronleadershipeffectiveness!

Imagineanorganizationwhereeveryonetakesresponsibilityforachievinggoodresults.Anorganizationwherepeoplehaveapersonalsenseofownership,andthereislittlefinger-pointingwhenthingsgowrong.

Ifeveryleaderwereabletoinspireaccountabilityinothers,itwouldnotonlybetterleverageleadership,butitwouldsignificantlyincreasebottomlineresults.

Q.Whatcanaleaderdotocreateagreatersenseofaccountabilityinothers?

Acrosstheworld,personalaccountabilityitisnotanisolatedissue,itisanissueofbigconcern.Inordertoincreasethelevelofaccountabilitywemadeachoice–RESEARCH!Aco-relationofpersonalaccountabilityandbehaviorsthatwouldleverageit.ACriticalBehaviorthatwillLeverageLeadershipandcreateagreatersenseofresponsibilityforresultsandincreaseasenseofownershipleadingtolessfingerpointingwhenthingsgowrong-IMPROVEACCOUNTABILITY!

Q.HowCanWeIncreaseACCOUNTABILITY?

Thereisacorrelationbetweenaccountabilityandcontrol.Greaterthecontrolorinfluencehighertheaccountability.DataprovesthelaterthroughtheControlGraph.Theangleofthecurvedidnotpredicttheorganizationaloutcomebutthetotalamountofinfluencewhichisthesumofareaunderthecurveofmanagersandemployees.

HigherTotalControlneedstobeprovidedtothemiddlemanagementandemployeesasthetopmanagementalreadyhasitforwhichwechangetheangleofcontrol.Themosteffectiveorganizationsaretheoneswhereeveryonehasinfluenceleadingtogreateraccountability.

Q.Whatcanaleaderdotoincreaseagreatersenseofaccountabilityinothers?

ThereisacommonBeliefthatifleadersDemandedAccountabilityorLetothersMakeallDecisionsorPepTalks,PersonalAccountabilitymighthelpbutinrealityitdoesnotwork.Ourdatafrom398,730Assessmentson39,312Leadersfoundspecificbehaviorsthatincreasedpersonalaccountability.

Therewere8BehaviorsthatcreatethePersonalAccountabilitywheretheyreinforced:

DrivingforResults-Thethreemostcriticalissuesassociatedwithdeliveringresultsare–Focus–Focus–Focus!Defineresultsveryclearlytohaveafairamountofcontroloftheindividualorresults.Basedonover150,000assessmentsofemployees,leaderswhoDriveforResults-Inspireemployeestohighlevelsofeffort,Energizethemtoachieveexceptionalresults,Createanatmosphereofcontinualimprovement,Skillfullygetthemtostretchforgoalsthatgobeyondwhattheyoriginallythoughtpossible.

HonestyandIntegrity-Thosewhoareaccountablehavethecouragetotellthetruth.

Trust-TheThreePillarsofTrust:PositiveRelationships,ShareKnowledgeandExpertise&Consistency.

ClearVisionandDirection-Beingclearaboutthestrategyandfocusonyourvision.Employeescanworkhardanddotheirjobwithoutbeingclearaboutthestrategy,buttheywillmakedecisionsthataresuboptimal.Peopleoftenneedclarity,remindersandreinforcementtogetthefinalresult.

ProblemSolving/TechnicalExpertise-Itisimpossibletofeelaccountablewhenyouareconfusedanddon’tknowexactlyhowthingswork.Weneedtotrainthem,seethattheyunderstandwhatisexpectedoutofthemwhichwillhelpthemtobeaccountablefortheirbehavior.

Communication-KeepingOthersWellInformed.The3skillsofcommunicatingwithimpactare:(A)Tells(B)Asks(C)Listens.UsingAllThreeMakesaBigDifference.Ifallthreearemoderatestrengths…probabilityofbeinginthetop10atkeepingothersinformed:64.2%.

AbilitytoChange-Studyingthousandsofleaderswhoweremosteffectiveatmakingpersonalandorganizationalchanges,wefoundtheyweremoreeffectiveatthefollowingbehaviors:KeyFactorsthatLeveragePersonalChange1.Willingtotakeonchallenges2.Abilitytoacceptfeedback3.Concernforothers4.Innovation5.Optimism6.Cleargoalsandpriorities.

CollaborationandResolvingConflict-AdvicefromaSeniorExecutive“Weputthisorganizationtogetherwiththeassumptionthatthesumofthepartswouldbegreaterthantheindividualpieces”“Theonlywaythathappensiswhenpeoplecollaborate”.

Wefoundthatleaderswhohaveahighlevelofaccountabilitytheyaregoodatthesebehaviors.Ifyouhaveanyoftheseasafatalflawoneneedstofixitbuttheleveragepointisyoutakeacoupleofthemandbuilditandwehelppeopleinbuildingstrengths.WethinkworkingonourweaknessescanmakethemgofromBadtoGoodbutyoucannotmakethemgoGoodtoGreatonlythiskindofresearchmakesthedifference.

ZengerFolkmanhelpsorganizationsflourishbyincreasingtheeffectivenessofleadersofalllevels.Ourunique,strengthbaseddevelopmentmethodologyenablesleaderstomovefasterandhigher.

February2016