Accountability isn't a 4 letter word-(but it feels like it tho)

Accountability gets a bad rap. In this episode, Noelle breaks down why the problem isn’t accountability itself, it’s how leaders use it.

Transcript

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Welcome back to We Lead Anyway. This is a podcast for a workforce who shows up even when it's uncomfortable, inconvenient, and honestly kind of a freaking mess. I'm Noelle, senior leader, career coach, and host of We Lead Anyway. Also, YouTube needs you. Go find me at We Lead Anyway. All right. So I have a six-syllable word that people absolutely don't love to say, but probably not for the right reasons. And no, the word is not discombobulated. I freaking love saying that word. No, it's accountability. See? I told you. Poor accountability. It gets such a bad rap. It's like it's like Kanye circa 2016. It means well. And most of the time, the reaction to the word is not the team's fault, but a leadership problem. So obviously that's what we're talking about today. When most frontline team members hear the word accountability, what they actually hear is crap. Somebody's about to get in trouble. Big brother is upon us. What we're doing isn't good enough. And honestly, that tracks. It tracks because for a lot of people, accountability has only ever shown up as punishment. It shows up as punishment wearing a wrinkled business casual blazer. You missed a metric. Accountability. You're on a deliverable. Someone needs you as a scapegoat. Congratulations. You've been held accountable. I know it sounds super cynical, and I don't mean it to, but that's a lot of people's lived experience of the word. So of course it feels punitive. And of course, it feels like a threat because you've been conditioned. But here is what accountability actually is when it's done right. It's a relationship that sets everyone up for success. It's a mutual agreement that says, here's what we're trying to accomplish, here's your role in it, and here's how we are going to support you in getting there. That's it. That's what it's supposed to be. I've seen it not happen that way. I'll share a situation I witnessed firsthand. No names, no companies or identifying details. No hints like rhymes with Schlory. Just kidding, Florrie. Okay, I was at a company. It was a great, great organization, decent people, genuinely trying to improve. The leadership decided, and rightly so, that we needed to start tracking performance metrics. Cool. And honestly, the metrics made sense. There was nothing crazy. It was mostly what the team was already doing. But the rollout, good God. The rollout was horrific. The leader in question, Schlory, stood in front of the team and said, and I'm paraphrasing, but barely. This is the way things have to be now. Everyone is held to these numbers, period. And then strolled out of the room. The team melted down. Some of them almost quite literally. People were upset. They were scared. Some checked out before the meeting ended. And why? Why would a team react that way? Because nobody told them the why. You have to begin with the why. Nobody explained how hitting these metrics connected to something bigger. Nobody said, here's what we're trying to achieve as an organization. Here's how your work fits into that. Here's why your numbers matter. Instead, it was, hey, rules exist now. Good luck with that. And that's not accountability. And yes, sometimes decisions are made from the top down, but change management is a thing. And we'll get into that another time. And you don't have sustainable growth or followership or high performance without that. So what could that leader have done differently? I'm going to say it again. The freaking why. All right. People do not perform better when they're afraid. We know people don't perform better under duress. They perform better when they understand purpose. They understand their role in it. When you roll out new expectations without context, you're essentially saying, jump. And the team is like, well, how high? And and and why? And and am I wearing the right shoes for jumping? And what happens if I fall? What if I twist an ankle? Start with a why always. Why do these metrics exist? What problems are they trying to solve? What happens to the team, the customer, and our mission if we don't hit them? And and may I add, what becomes possible when we do hit them? How do we earn the right to grow? What possibilities does that open up for us? Opportunities. All right, so start with the why. And then we need to think about the connection. People want to matter. It's not a radical concept. When you can show someone how their individual work contributes to a bigger picture, accountability stops being scary. It doesn't feel punitive. If you say your numbers matter because they affect X, which affects Y, which is ultimately why we exist as an organization, that sentence alone changes the entire energy of the conversation about performance. And then lastly, and for me as a leader, this is one of the most important. It's the support, real accountability. Asks, now we've told you what you need. What do you need to succeed? Punitive says, well, what the hell did you do wrong? One of these builds a team, and the other builds an inexplicable gap on your resume. And when leaders show up with, here are the expectations, here's the support available, and here's how we'll check in together, then they're both accountable. And it's important to hold the leader accountable. Okay. Now I want to speak directly to the frontline team members who are listening. Those who feel like accountability feels like a weapon being aimed at you. If it feels like a punishment, I hear you. That experience is real. And not great leaders have absolutely, maybe unintentionally, maybe they didn't know better, but they have absolutely weaponized this word and it's left a mark. But that is the past. Please don't get me started on quantum physics. The past no longer exists, nor does it have to shape your present or your future. So I want to challenge you respectfully to consider something. What if accountability done right is actually the thing that protects you? When expectations are clear, you know exactly what success looks like. You can't be moved on a vague feeling or a manager's whim or a bad day, right? You have something concrete to point to. Hey, I hit a target. Here's the data. It's right here. Accountability, when it works, is a two-way street. It means your leader also has to be clear, consistent, and show up for you. If they're holding you to metrics but not giving you the tools or the training or the context or whatever it is you need, that's on them. And a clear accountability structure actually makes that visible. So yeah, push back. Push back on accountability that feels punitive, but don't throw out the concept entirely because the version that actually works is one of the best things that can happen to a high-performing team. So we've gotten away from the mindset shift, but I have one for today. Accountability is not the problem. Poor accountability is the problem. When no one explains the why, where metrics appear out of nowhere, where performance conversations only happen when something goes wrong, that version deserves every ounce of resentment people have for it. But hold your leaders accountable for that. But when leaders do it right, when they connect expectations to purpose, when they show people how their work matters, when they provide support instead of saying, here's your scorecad, here's your scorecard, words are hard. Better luck next time. Accountability and clarity becomes a high-performing team who wants to show up and show out. So show up and show out, my friends. And if you have a question or topic you'd like me to discuss, email me at noelleadsanyway at gmail.com. For coaching and development, visit leadwithnoel.com. And until next time, go take up space.