A leadership lesson from a two-year old. A while back, we had a birthday party for my two-year-old granddaughter Sophy. As it unfolded, I was privileged to observe a powerful object lesson for leaders. As the birthday girl, Sophy was sitting at the head of the table. She happened to notice that she had one of her grandmothers sitting immediately to her right. When Sophy noticed that, she smiled and reached out to hold her
“I AM A MANAGER WHO HOLDS PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE” Are you? Do you really want to be? There are two major problems with the sentence that forms the title of this article. Can you spot them both? Look at it in two halves. Here’s the first half: “I am a manager …” Are you really a manager? Are you sure? We manage resources. We manage things: computers, real estate, product inventory. Contrary to popular belief, we
A leader with a commitment to a value like “We stand by our passengers and employees when all hell breaks loose,” or with a commitment to securing the airline’s good reputation, would have jumped all over this event, right away. That leader would have made certain that the whole world knew that both the leader and the airline considered such abuse intolerable, would have rejected racism and discrimination in all its forms, and would have announced that a full internal review of the incident was underway.
So: What this woman is doing is courageous. It is true leadership. And yes, it is accountable leadership. I share Murad’s story with you today not just because it is inspiring on a human level – although it certainly is that – but because I want you to notice that two of the specific commitments Murad has championed, since her escape from hell on earth in 2014, are absolutely critical for accountable leadership in any realm. Those two commitments are: “I tell the truth” and to “It’s all of us.”
Having a heart for accountability produces a want to attitude for accountability. Listen as Sam shares a story about how having a heart for accountability can affect the world we live in.
On the other hand … when there is a personal commitment to an “it’s all of us” relationship … when the leader does model that value, is personally committed to it, and makes sure it is a personal accountability to every person on the team… an amazing thing happens. Everyone on the team buys into “It’s all of us,” regardless of the role that individual plays … and every member of the team becomes accountable to every other member.
The big takeaways here for leaders are: make good on your commitments to your customers and your employees; take appropriate action even when people you don’t employ make mistakes; and focus on always making decisions around what you say you believe and value.
Accountability will always be the highest form of leadership. Listen as Sam shares how important this is, and how it affects those around us. The accountable leader will always be effective when this skill is applied.
Making sure that we are focused on the right things is important for the accountable leader. Listen as Sam shares the importance of knowing where your focus is going, and how it affects the people you lead and serve.
• What is possible in an organizational culture when you consistently show, not just with words but with actions, how much you truly care about people?
• What lessons are you teaching your people about how they should interact with customers … by how you interact with them?
• What happens in an organization when accountability in the workplace is the goal and leadership accepts the responsibility to have accountability start with them?
Website Developed by Square Pixel, LLC
We use cookies to give you the best online experience.
By using our website, you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy
