When working with teams, I hear a lot of complaints about bosses.
One of the most common is about a manager who doesnt hold people accountable.
There could be any number of factors at play, all of which are outside of your control.
They arent the only one who can address deadbeats, downers, and jerks.
you’re able to too.
This is more than expressing gratitude like, hey, thanks for submitting the budget on time.
This is about acknowledging the value of someones unique contributions to the team.
This is about perspective and life experience.
It might sound like, I appreciated the way you disagreed with us today.
Your perspective challenges me to see our work differently and were better for it.
Seeing the value others put forward is the foundation of respect.
Be good at your own job
Holding people accountable requires credibility.
Take stock of your own performance.
If so, you are likely dependable and able to influence.
This also means the team is more likely to listen to your ideas and feedback.
Holding others accountable is a challenge if youre not modeling solid performance yourself.
Often, accountability issues are really misunderstandings of what is expected.
I used to gripe about a co-worker in another department who rarely replied to emails within 48 hours.
More often, it took him three or four days to write-back.
He was confused and thankfully didnt blow me off.
His boss didnt want them on email all day and told them to get to it when they could.
All we did in our department was respond to email and fast.
After that conversation, we agreed to a two- to three-day turnaround.
If there are accountability issues, there are probably issues of missing expectations.
(I recommend very little, since it can exclude non-native speakers and your neurodivergent peers.)
Keep it simple
Holding people accountable is uncomfortable, even scary for some.
If this sounds familiar, maybe you worry youll offend the other person or be ignored.
Even when the workplace is congenial and respectful, that fear is still in place.
This is common but the anticipation is likely the worst part.
Keeping it simple helps tap down fear.
Have a neutral and inquisitive tone.
Be brief, start with the expectation and inquire, We agreed the report would be done by Friday.
When will it be ready?
It builds confidence and were more likely to say what we intend if weve said it before.
Which speaks to the importance of having those three conditions in place before going down the accountability path.
That said, you have no control over other peoples reactions.
Everyone owns their own behavior, so their reaction has everything to do with themselves and not you.
You have two choices, let it go or escalate the problem.
Let it go in circumstances when whatever is happening isnt directly impacting your ability to do great work.
Instead, you find it bothersome or annoying.
Workplaces function best when everyone takes responsibility for it.
Certainly, the managers play a critical role, but each employee does too.
Anyone on the team can by setting a foundation of respect, credibility, and expectations.
