The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Turning Dreams into Profits

EFFECTIVE LEADERS CREATE A CULTURE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability means that everyone involved in a project feels responsible for its successful outcome—and also for the overall success of the business. The foundation of accountability is trust. You have to trust people to do what they’re supposed to do. That, of course, brings us back to the problem of micromanaging.

If, for example, you tell Tom that it’s his job to set up a new product-fulfillment operation, you have to give him the freedom and authority (within predetermined, reasonable limits) to do it. If he knows you will be looking over his shoulder, he will never feel responsible for getting the job done well.

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”

—Stephen Covey