Enabled and Accountable Equals Highly Reliable Performance

November 21 2022
By: Shawn M. Galloway

If you are not consistently receiving the desired results from the group you lead, ask yourself, "Have I enabled them to be successful, and have I created an environment of accountability?"

To create successful performance and results, the workforce needs to be aware of the goals and what is expected or needed from them to accomplish them. They need to agree on what needs to be done, how to achieve it, and that it is in their self-interest. Workers need the ability, both in skills and competencies, and to have their obstacles and barriers removed to accomplish the goals. Lastly, they need to be able to always perform to the desired outcomes, every time, everywhere.

To facilitate being enabled, there needs to be an environment of accountability. There are two sides to accountability - behavior and results. Individuals must hold themselves accountable for their behaviors necessary to accomplish the desired results. They must also feel a sense of accountability to those they work with, and there needs to be accountability from and to the person above them. The accountability conversations at all levels should be more proactive and positive than reactive and corrective. However, a balance of consequences will be necessary to coach for and create accountability within a work group.

Once the mission is clear, continuously ask yourself, are my people enabled and accountable? If not, assess your plans against this model.

"Meticulous planning will enable everything a man does to appear spontaneous." — Mark Caine

"Leaders inspire accountability through their ability to accept responsibility before they place blame." — Courtney Lynch

"When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, which is far more hurtful than addressing a behavior or a choice." — Brené Brown