Coaching for accountability
Personal accountability is an essential value for creating organizational cultures that can get results. When colleagues are respected and expectations of them are high, they can rise to the challenge. Coaching enhances performances by motivating, inspiring and providing an ongoing support system for colleagues and direct reports. It is a means of helping employees to understand how to meet their goals and how to develop. By providing continuous feedback, it enables direct reports to learn and grow and be recognized in real time, rather than waiting for annual performance review which are outdated and mostly ineffective due to the lag time in these critical conversations.
Learning how to conduct these ongoing conversations and developing effective listening skills will provide the foundation for coaching or developing the leadership capacity of your team members. It’s a process that is more effective over an extended period of time so that a commitment to learning is ongoing.
Managers need to be able to encourage accountability and motivate their direct reports to higher levels of performance. Knowing how to build accountability is a skill that takes place in the format of one-on-one meetings as well as in regular conversations on improved performance, motivation and problem solving. Additionally, helping colleagues to connect personal and corporate values to performance should be part of this process.
Accountability must come from within someone. Managers can encourage their colleagues to practice accountability behaviors and as a result will naturally start thinking in more accountable ways. By establishing the alignment of roles and key responsibilities, performance objectives and accountability measurements can then be established. Employees can be encouraged to strengthen their leadership capacity through special projects, learning opportunities and team building. Special projects could include being part of a committee or task force to investigate an issue or solve a problem, or creating a report that marks a trend or communicates a situation affecting the department or organization’s business.
Learning doesn’t always have to come from classes or books. “Apprenticing” for a day to work with someone in another department is a way to learn more about the big picture. “Interviewing” a top performer in their own area to determine what habits and behaviors make them shine is another opportunity. Encouraging introverted team members to become more integrated into their team by having breakfast or lunch with co-workers one-on-one could be effective.
As a manager, by including coaching and feedback as part of your regular routine, you will be increasing morale and creating a feeling of confidence and respect within your team. By acknowledging your team member’s contributions, they will feel increasingly valued and motivated. In the absence of feedback, people assume the worst. Managing employee expectations eliminates surprises, establishes rapport, increases clarity and builds trust. All these provide the foundation for creating actions that reflect behavior changes towards increased accountability. Good luck! It’s worth the effort.
