Last week, I wrote about the so-called Generational Divide. As a leader, you must meet your employees where they are within their experience level. This requires that you understand their abilities, which are the result of your experience and the experience of other leaders in your organization with them.

You and I thrive on some level of autonomy. So do your employees. In Drive, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink wrote, "... people must be accountable for their work." He further notes that autonomy does not mean shirking responsibility or accountability. "Motivation 3.0... presumes that people want to be accountable and that making sure they have control over their task, their time, their technique, and their team is a pathway to that destination."

Let me be clear. You have a business to run. There are organizational goals, behavioral and value norms (i.e., culture), and measurable results that your team has mutually agreed to. Also, you have milestones and timelines (if not, you should) to measure progress in achieving the results that you and they are aiming for. Underlying all of this is accountability.

I was recently asked, during a strategic work session, "What about accountability?" The conversation came to a halt. At that moment, we needed to shift the discussion to what accountability meant to the leadership team in the room.

Think Win-Win

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey wrote, "Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people."

Covey was referring to delegating with a "stewardship" mindset. When you delegate, you are not abdicating. You are entrusting that they will get the job done. In essence, you are placing your firm's success in the hands of your employees.

It's Simple

In simple terms, for you as the leader, accountability is doing what you say you will do. One of your top priorities as a leader is to "walk the talk." The surest way to erode trust in your company is to do just the opposite.

In Gridiron Genius, author Michael Lombardi wrote, "... I had my Jerry McGuire epiphany: Coaches are first and foremost great leaders. What separates good coaches from great ones is often trust and accountability..."

Here are Lombardi's five qualities of Great Leaders:

📣 They command the room. They grab the attention of everyone in the room and show them what they are fighting for.

⭐️ They command the message. They set the vision and path to success and are adept at articulating it to others in meaningful ways.

💡Command of self. They are honest with themselves and don't play the 'blame game.' "Ego is the leading cause of unemployment in the coaching world."

🏆 They command the opportunity. When given the opportunity, great coaches are leaders first and make the most of it.

❤️ They command the process. Lombardi is talking about Culture here. You've got to be fair and consistent. The rules, cultural norms, and values don't just apply to the employees. They apply to everyone, including the leadership team. See trust and accountability above.

Trust and Accountability

From my experience, trust and accountability are the most important. They are the ❤️ of your organization.

Accountability is not a 'win/lose' agreement. In a win/lose agreement, there is punishment for not getting the job done.

The Reframe

Let's reframe what accountability really means.

Take complete ownership if you believe the buck stops with you as the leader. Take 100% responsibility. The blame game solves nothing.

Hold yourself accountable to ensure that expectations are clear and even mutually agreed to and that you are available to help your employees when they get stuck.

Hold them able. You are delegating or assigning a project to them because it will be a growth opportunity for them, and you trust that they can and will successfully complete it.

Setting clear expectations of success, being okay with mistakes, and fostering an environment where autonomy is part of the cultural norm foster deeper levels of engagement.

One of the hardest things for leaders to get right is having a meaningful and productive one-to-one conversation with an employee.

From my many years of experience working with leaders, I developed a simple tool to help you do just that: the Leaders Engagement Accelerator Cheat Sheet.

Get your free downloadable pdf HERE.