There’s something that all high-performing teams have in common: a culture of accountability. Whether your team uses huddles, time blocking or tracking key metrics, accountability tactics turn a mediocre team into a well-oiled machine. If you’re struggling to understand what the big deal is about accountability, here’s why it is matters so much:
Integrity and accountability go hand in hand. A person of integrity honors commitments. Creating a culture of accountability on your team means you will check in with yourself and with your team members to see if you are fulfilling the commitments you said you would. It means you are practicing integrity every day, and both your teammates and clients can trust you.
Teams must have trust in order to function. Your teammates have to know when you say you’ll do something, you really mean it. Nobody is perfect, so without accountability, someone is likely to fall short at times when it comes to keeping commitments. With accountability, however, your team will push you to fulfill your promises. Everyone you interact with will see that your team has the highest level of commitment and integrity.
Accountability shows dedication. Keeping your commitments and pushing yourself to improve isn’t always easy. It takes hard work and willingness to be uncomfortable at times. Because of this, not everyone is willing to be held accountable. They want to take the easy way out and let obligations slide when things get tough.
When you’re willing to listen to your teammates as they push you to work harder and follow through on commitments, it shows your devotion. A devoted team runs smoothly because team members know they can count on each other to give 100%. There’s never any worry that someone will let you down. When problems arise, you know teammates will step up to help.
Accountability equals love. When holding your teammates accountable, your role is to use your outside perspective to show your teammate what they’re missing. As you offer perspective and insight, your teammates will be able to focus on what really matters. Holding someone accountable gives them the gift of awareness. Making an effort to bring awareness to others shows that you really care.
It isn’t always easy to point out what your teammates are missing, nor is it easy to receive another person’s perspective with humility. But when you support each other in this way, you will grow more and more capable individually and as a team.
If you want to show your team that they are important to you, you have to hold them accountable. Teams are more likely to stay together, operating at a high level, when they know their teammates care.
Success doesn’t happen without accountability. Olympic athletes don’t win without a coach. The world’s most famous musicians wouldn’t have made it so far without their teachers. The reason for this is because it’s difficult to push yourself to your highest potential on your own. You need someone with expertise and an outside perspective to keep you moving forward.
Don’t let progress become stagnant because you haven’t built systems of accountability into your team’s culture. If you’re not checking in regularly with your team and helping each other track progress, implement these strategies and see how quickly you improve.
Verl Workman is the founder and CEO of Workman Success Systems (385-282-7112), an international speaking, consulting, and coaching company that specializes in performance coaching and building successful power agents and teams. Contact him at Verl@WorkmanSuccessSystems.com. For more information, please visit www.WorkmanSuccess.com.
