Implementing Personal Accountability in Your Leadership
Implementing personal accountability into your leadership style is where the real transformation happens. In the previous article, we looked at the significance of personal accountability and how it differentiates true leaders from the rest. Now, it’s time to take those principles and put them into action. By drawing on the practical strategies from The Oz Principle and QBQ!, we can create a proactive and accountable culture within ourselves and our teams.
The Oz Principle’s four-step approach—See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It—provides a straightforward framework for personal accountability. Recognizing and acknowledging the reality of your situation (See It) and taking responsibility for your role in it (Own It) are the foundational steps. Once these are in place, developing solutions (Solve It) and taking decisive action (Do It) become natural and crucial progressions. Similarly, QBQ! encourages us to ask empowering questions that start with "What" or "How" and focus on our own contributions. For instance, instead of wondering, “Why is my team always so unmotivated?” ask, “What can I do to create a more engaging and motivating environment for my team?”
By consistently applying these principles, we can enhance our own leadership and inspire our teams to embrace a culture of accountability. Let’s dive deeper into practical steps you can take to integrate these powerful concepts into your daily operations and leadership style.
As we begin to understand what these concepts look like for us, the question becomes, what can I do to build my own personal accountability system? How do I put these principles and concepts to work in a real-life environment? Taking concepts from others and using them in a fast-paced, ever-changing world can be difficult. It is likely the most common question people ask when reading a book or listening to a podcast: “That’s great for you, but how will that work for me in my environment?” This article is no different. It is a fair question. But, using the question I asked above, and utilizing The Oz Principle framework and ‘staying above the line’ is the first step in making these ideas work for you.
See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It
The first step here is to internalize and understand what each of these mean to you. You can read or re-read what the authors define them as. You can use my thoughts from the last article. However, what really matters is what those mean to you. Make them your own. I already shared that how I see them begins to combine See It and Own It together. I believe they go hand in hand. You may see them very independently and need the clarity from each step.
Building a process that works for your environment to break each of those out for your situation is the best place to begin. What types of problems are you solving for? Are you looking to solve your own time management concerns? How about a sales challenge for your store or district? Maybe you have a staffing quality issue to solve, or even turnover. It’s easy to say, ‘I can’t pay enough to hire great people.’ ‘Why won’t the company let me pay more to get better employees?’ ‘I don’t get enough of the best-selling items to make my sales.’ ‘Why doesn’t the company send me more?’ These questions lead you below the line and into a blaming mindset. What can you see, own, solve, and do in these cases?
Implementing personal accountability requires intentional effort and consistency. As you start building your system, remember that it’s a journey of continuous improvement. In our next article, we will explore more detailed strategies on how to maintain this accountability mindset and integrate it seamlessly into your leadership style.
How can you begin to add the See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It approach to your environment?
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