by Michael Holland
Is there a way to get your employees to act accountably? Yes! Start by making sure you allow it and support it.
Ask yourself:
- Are you role modeling accountability – are you stepping up, solving problems and acting accountably?
- Are you coaching accountability – are you talking about your expectations, providing feedback when you catch them doing well, and discussing when they are not?
- Are you encouraging employees to stretch – do you let them work outside of the current responsibilities without facing negative consequences?
- Are you letting employees solve problems on their own rather than solving problems for them?
Copy the following items onto a small, very bright Post It note:
- taking responsibility
- stepping up to the plate
- taking initiative
- being empowered
- taking ownership.
Then put the Post It note on the back of your iPhone, BlackBerry, smartphone, cell phone, etc. – or Franklin Planner/Day Timer for those old school folks – as an actionable phrase reminder. Over the next six days, refer to your cheat sheet as you meet with your employees. After the six days, as you are ready to throw away the Post It note, think about how you have modeled accountability or maybe more importantly, how have you enabled others to be more accountable.
