The Accountability Blog

Tag: leadership development

Spring Training Lesson: Accountable Leadership Means the Rookie Has a Voice

When I talk about accountability, a lot of leaders assume I’m talking about the team’s accountability to the leader. Actually, the whole process starts with the leader’s accountability and their ability to follow through on commitments to the team. One of the most important of those commitments is the leader’s commitment to make sure everyone feels safe in sharing insights and opinions…whether that’s someone who’s been with your organization for years, or someone who just

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For Accountable Leaders, Gratitude Is 365 Days a Year

We are all nearing the end of what has been a very difficult year. As the final days of that year approach, it seems appropriate to take just a few moments to talk about one of the most important, most inexhaustible traits of the accountable leader: gratitude.

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The Lazy Leader’s Version of Accountability

Has someone you report to ever said to you, “I’m holding you accountable for so-and-so”? Or: “You’re going to be held accountable if X, Y, or Z doesn’t happen”?

How did that make you feel? Did it inspire you? Did it make you glad that you had picked such a great place to work and found such a great boss? Did it get your creative juices flowing?

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The Big Myth about Remote Workers and Accountability

(This article is the second in a series of posts about the challenges of leading a remote workforce.) In a previous post, I pointed out that many leaders, in the wake of new staffing circumstances brought about by the response to the global pandemic, are now asking variations on this question: How do I hold my people accountable when they are not working in the office? In this post, I want to issue a pointed

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Accountability Means Keeping Your Commitments to People

So: What makes the customer experience positive? A culture by design. And what makes that culture by design an accountable culture? Keeping commitments to people. One of the most critical of those commitments is the commitment to live the values. That has to start at the top.

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Leaders: How Accountable Are You?

Accountability and responsibility are two very different things. Accountability is keeping your commitments to people. Responsibility is taking on a certain task. The difference is subtle and instructive, and it connects to the vitally important concept of commitment. There are tactical commitments, for which people take on responsibility, and which build productivity (that is what leaders want). And there are also relational commitments, which support relationships and build accountability (that is what leaders need).

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The Solution to the Accountability Crisis in Law Enforcement

NOTE: I set up several calls recently with Sheriff Joel Richardson, a man I respect immensely, to discuss the difficult issues facing today’s law enforcement organizations. Joel leads the Randall County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department, which includes part of the city of Amarillo; he served for eight and a half years as the presiding officer for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Joel presents, in my view, a perfect example of what accountable leadership in law

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Google Assistant Responds To “Tell Me Something Good” With Positive News

But actions still speak louder than words! We live in a hyper-connected, hyper-informed era. Thanks to today’s round-the-clock media cycles, mobile devices, and social media platforms, you and I can set up news feeds that allow us to take in more news per day than ever before. That’s a good thing…right? Well — yes and no. The trouble is, lots and lots of the news we end up exposing ourselves to is bad. If we’re

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This Is Not a Law Enforcement Issue – It’s an Organizational Culture Issue

Like just about everyone else I know, I have watched the news about the massive protests triggered by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. As that incident and similar incidents have become topics of the national conversation, I have found myself confronting some major questions about accountability in the nation’s police departments. Recently, I had the opportunity to catch up with a good friend of mine, and a client, Sheriff Joel Richardson, to discuss

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Policing in America: The Accountability Crisis

Let’s talk about accountability in law enforcement and community policing. A few years back, in the aftermath of the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, I made a point of visiting Ferguson while the protests there were going on. I wanted to connect person-to-person with some of the people in the community there. One of the gentlemen I talked to was a teacher in one of the

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