Are you tired of team members who just don’t get it, no matter how many times you explain it? Or who try to make excuses or blame others when things don’t get done?
In this article I’ll share 3 tips to create a more accountable team that gets better results. When teams own their own work and are accountable for their own results, they are happier, your customers are happier, and your business is more profitable.
1. Don’t hold them accountable, teach them to be accountable.
Your job is to teach your team how to be accountable. New employees don’t know what accountability means in your company, so you have to show them. Create systems for them to make accountability easy. Teach them to self-report. Be clear on the outcomes you want, not just what you want them to do.
The systems you create will provide the accountability instead of you or your managers having to do it. Because let’s be honest, holding people accountable isn’t all that fun.
2. Stop repeating yourself.
I hear many business owners complain, “I’ve told them 10 times, and they still don’t get it.”
The reason they don’t get it is because you’ve told them 10 times, and you’ve trained them that they don’t have to think for themselves or remember to do things, because you’ll do all the thinking and remembering for them.
My rule of thumb is, never repeat yourself more than twice.
The second time is allowable…maybe you didn’t do a good enough job teaching them or explaining things to them the first time. But by the third time, they should remember at least part of it.
So, the third time an issue comes up, your response should be, “What did we do the last time this came up?”
If they say “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember,” respond with “That’s okay, what do you think?” or “What part of it do you remember?” This will get them to start thinking about it and start taking ownership of it.
3. Ask the right questions.
Ask forward-looking questions instead of backwards-looking questions.
A backwards-looking question is something like, “Why didn’t this get done?” or “Who messed this up?” When you ask those type of questions, people’s walls go up, and their willingness to be accountable goes down.
Instead ask forward-looking questions like, “How can we…?” or “What will it look like when we…?” These types of questions will move them forward by getting them to think about it and talk about it. When you are the one talking about it, you are more likely to feel ownership for it.
So, ask the right questions to get them moving forward, instead of just avoiding blame.
If you want a more self-accountable team and a lower-stress workplace, schedule a short call with me and we can work on some strategies that are specific to your business.
Author, Mark McNulty, Business Coach in Louisville, KY