Today, I want to talk to you about holding your team accountable. Let’s take a look.
This illustration comes from the Jonathon Raymond book Good Authority. How do you hold your team accountable for their results? What’s at stake when they fail to deliver? Raymond provides different levels of response depending on the situation.
The mention is the first level. In the mention, you simply mention it. You’re checking in to make sure everything is OK and on track.
The next level is the invitation. This is an invitation to a conversation. It’s informal, but usually private, to make sure that you are aware of any additional details that you may not understand.
Next you would move to the conversation. Turning the dial up a little more, this is a “we need to talk” kind of meeting. There is a sense of urgency there. During this time, to address this urgency and what’s at stake here, you start to document things.
Then you would move into the boundary talk. In the boundary talk, you outline the consequences for failing to deliver.
Finally, we are turning the dial all the way up, and we are taking it to the limit. This is the last step in giving someone a chance to make a final change. It is their final chance to make sure that they understand the gravity of the situation.
Just like the dial, it isn’t linear. It can go up or it can go down, depending on the situation. Some situations require an immediate boundary discussion, while others need a few mentions in order for someone to follow through.
Now that you better understand the accountability dial, think through these five levels of accountability and decide what you are going to do about it.
