One of the key skills that leaders of all high-performing teams need is providing accountability.

Accountability means your team takes ownership of the results they create, but as a leader providing accountability is quite the opposite of pointing fingers or playing the blame game. It’s about communicating expectations, following up to ensure those expectations are fulfilled, and providing feedback for improvement. 

If you feel like your team is struggling with owning their responsibilities and following through with results right now, I have five strategies for you to boost accountability in your business.

 

Set Clear Expectations

The first step is to make sure your team knows exactly what is expected of them individually and collectively. Now, as the CEO of your business, it’s your responsibility to provide:

• What goals must be achieved
• What are the responsibilities of each team member to achieve these goals
• What their individual KPIs are
• Who’s accountable for what

If your team doesn’t clearly know what their roles, responsibilities and your expectations are, it’s time to step up and align your team before proceeding to any kind of work or task.

 

Always Follow Up

Simply put, follow up. There will be times when team members struggle to complete tasks or achieve results, and you need to keep an open line of communication. Find out what their roadblocks are.

You can only remove these roadblocks if you follow up and understand what’s getting in the way. 

 

Measure, Measure, Measure

When it comes to accountability, metrics are key. This is the best way to assess your team’s performance. Are they doing great? Are they producing better results? Or are there areas of improvement that you need to work on?

One common mistake that entrepreneurs make is that they don’t track and measure results. If that’s you right now, start small by assigning one key metric each team member can be responsible for.

Keep it as simple as possible. Focus on the key metrics, and work as a team to track, manage and improve your numbers.

 

Set an Example

Accountability is a two-way street. You want your team to hold themselves accountable? Then set yourself as an example. You can’t expect your team to do something you’re not doing yourself. Being accountable means being honest, keeping your promises, showing up on time, and more. 

Imposing accountability with the team works, but holding yourself accountable and becoming a role model for everyone works better.

 

Recognize and Reward Wins

Recognition of your team is incredibly important. By rewarding and recognizing your team’s wins and accomplishments, you encourage them to keep up at work and continue to practice accountability.

I’d say accountability is a team sport. As the CEO of your business, build a business that thrives on accountability and not only will you become a better leader, but your team members are more likely to grow, deliver better results, and enjoy working with you.