Leadership Without Excuses: How to Create Accountability and High-Performance (Instead of Just Talking About It)

CHAPTER 2INVEST EXCRUCIATING MINUTES TO ENSURE ROLE CLARITY

Without clarity about who is responsible for performing specific tasks, it’s impossible to have accountability. However, exercising the discipline to get that clarity isn’t much fun. “In fact,” says our friend, Jose-Luis Bretones-Lopez, “it’s often excruciating.” He should know. He works for a very well-known global company and a few years ago was responsible for introducing more rigor into the way the company operates in one of its major international markets. He wasn’t always welcomed with open arms.

“For starters,” he says, “the steps involved in ‘planning the work’ (which includes getting role clarity) feel boring to most people.” But that’s only part of the problem, Jose-Luis tells ...