Recognize Performance and Review Unexpected Results — the Last Elements of Effective Accountability
We are eight steps into one of the more complex and sometimes confusing topics that leaders face: accountability. Early on, we debunked the idea that accountability must mean bad things. As stated back in the first article in this series, What is Accountability, it is not a bad word. It simply means doing what you say you’re going to do. We are responsible for our actions and the corresponding outcomes that result from those actions. We should all be held accountable for what we commit to doing. That by itself should be the expectation.
Having a team that practices personal accountability to a strong start. Building that into an environment where it always happens takes a framework to sustain that over time. Each of the previous steps have been set up to structure that framework to allow for a culture of accountability. These final two steps round out the cycle, although these steps are not linear, and should be used as needed when working with others. Steps nine and ten are perfect examples of how steps are necessary throughout the framework and not only at the end.
Step 9 — RECOGNIZE success
Recognition is a critical element to embedding the actions and behaviors you want to occur regularly. Celebrating successes along the way provides encouragement without waiting until a final result is provided. There is seldom a bad time to provide recognition for work well done. Be generous, but authentic in your recognition of team member’s actions that lead to the outcomes you are looking for.
Recognition is a subject often talked about and under practiced. (I am also guilty of this!) It is easy to take for granted that others know how much you appreciate their efforts. It is equally easy to assume that everyone knows that they are doing the right things and that they know you are satisfied with how they are working. Please see step eight. I covered some excellent ways to recognize individuals and the team in Do More Recognition in the New Year. Personalizing the recognition and showing how much you appreciate their efforts is critical to creating lasting behaviors. Keeping the team fully engaged is foundational to any culture. Showing gratitude for the efforts contributed can be a positive way to recognize and engage the team together. I shared ideas for that in Gratitude as Recognition: A Powerful Tool for Engagement to help guide you to benefits for everyone involved.
The risk in placing a step like celebrating and recognition towards the end of a multi-step process is that people feel it has to come at the end. IT DOES NOT. Recognition is important at every step and in between. Step nine is about embedding behaviors with team members and those you work with. Recognition should know no boundaries — you can recognize up, down, and laterally. It can be done for large things, small things, and anything that falls between. There are two important elements of recognition and celebration. They must be timely, and it must be authentic. When you recognize someone’s positive contribution, mean it. Be specific about the impact it has on the outcomes and the team as a whole. This will reinforce the positive behavior and help to clarify the expectations you have set. By the way, this is also a form of solidifying the positives of step 3, agreed upon consequences.
Step 10 — RESTART step one if success does not come
If the positive outcomes you are seeking are not realized and all the steps have been applied, you need to return to step one and ensure that you have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.
You can work through all the steps, you can set clear expectations, agree on consequences, and complete thorough follow up. Along the way you can make adjustments to account for necessary changes, be consistent in your approach, all while staying completely involved. You make no assumptions, and you provide timely and meaningful praise, yet success doesn’t materialize. This can be painfully frustrating.
This is the step that ultimately lands squarely at your feet as the leader to hold yourself accountable. You must check that you have honestly and thoroughly completed each of the previous steps to set the team and each member up for success. If you can say you have done so with confidence, then the step you must take is people-driven. You will need to review whether you have the right person in the right role. This does not alway have to result in a termination of employment. They may be in the wrong position and there are options for alternative roles that can be explored. However, if that is not a choice that can be made, then the right thing to do for the team, the business, the culture is to dismiss the person who is not a good match for the role.
It is important to understand that this is not the time for the ‘I will hold you accountable’ conversation. That has been happening along the way. If you get to step ten and the individual is not aware that you are at the end of the line, then there was a breakdown in many of the other earlier steps. There should be no surprises for anyone when you arrive at step ten.
We have covered the ten steps to creating a culture of accountability. As you can see, that just scratches the surface. Each step has a lot of depth and necessary action that both the leader and the team must take. Culture is not easy, it is not fast, and it is always evolving. It requires constant attention and support. The ten steps create the framework for that support. In a final article, we will take a look back at each and see how they all interact and integrate to each other to build the environment you are looking for.
How will you utilize recognition and celebration as a way to reinforce the positive behaviors and outcomes you are looking for in your organization?
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