Uncommon Accountability

6ACCOUNTABILITY DOESN'T MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS

Janet is a young lady with lots of talent. She is a middle manager with potential to rise in the organization. The problem is that Janet's boss, we'll call him Tom, has been trying to “hold” Janet accountable.

Tom is like most managers and leaders in that he has learned that to get his team to perform, he needs to hold them accountable. That is what his leadership preaches. That is how he is managed. In fact, that's all Tom's ever experienced. Perhaps you can relate. This is how most, practically all, companies practice accountability.

Most companies we've worked with, and Michael and I have worked with hundreds in just about every industry sector, take this approach to accountability.

Janet attended a workshop of ours, and when we began talking about accountability and how most leaders strive to hold their people accountable, Janet spoke up and shared her situation being on the receiving end of it. Listen to how Janet described her experience.

“I am so frustrated with my boss. Truthfully, I can't stand him. He's always trying to hold me accountable and creating negative consequences to try and force me to do what he thinks is best. It doesn't make me want to perform. In fact, it has the opposite effect. I don't want to even be in the same room with him. I give him the minimum effort just to keep him off my back. I'm capable ...