Making Accountability Easier

How do you handle an employee or client who repeatedly fails to meet deadlines, appointments or project targets?  It seems that no matter how much you complain, threaten, scold, sympathize, or try to reason with them, their behavior doesn’t change.  Short of firing them (and, yes, you can fire a client), what can you do?

Holding individuals accountable begins with creating a culture of accountability.  It must be clear to all parties at the outset who is responsible for doing what and when, and there must be agreement on deadlines, budgets, goals, deliverables, and any other logistical matters, such as frequency and method of communication, payment schedules, and check points.  This sounds simple and obvious but can be passed over quickly at the beginning of a project when everyone is enthusiastic and trying to be upbeat and collegial.

Peter Bregman, author of 18 Minutes and a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review blog, has identified five key building blocks for creating a culture of accountability:  clear expectations, clear capability, clear measurement, clear feedback, and clear consequences.  Says Bregman, “The magic is in the way they work together as a system. If you miss any one, accountability will fall through that gap.”

When individuals repeatedly fail to fulfill their obligations, even after several warnings, it is usually because either they are not capable of doing so or they do not fear the consequences.  The gap in capability may not be their fault.  They make lack the necessary skills or training, have been given insufficient resources or unreasonable deadlines, or have not been delegated the needed authority to complete the task.  Depending on the circumstances, you may need to reassign the task to someone more capable, provide the necessary training, increase their authority, or adjust the project schedule, outcomes or deliverables.

If the individual is not concerned about the consequences, that requires more effort to correct.  Evading accountability is not merely a private matter; it affects the entire team or organization.  Therefore, consequences must be public, equitable and consistent.  In the case of recurring behavior, reprimanding an individual in private or threatening to take action but not following through will only encourage further lapses.  Corrective action needs to be taken promptly, based on organizational policy and communicated to the entire team.  In that way you not only make clear that there will be consequences for poor performance, but also that you are looking out for the welfare of the entire team.

Managers may contribute to a lack of accountability by not setting clear measures of performance, not establishing clear and consistent policies and guidelines, and not providing regular and timely feedback. Transparency, clarity and consistency will almost always be more effective than discipline in creating an authentic culture of accountability.