Accountability requires Communication too!

The Intersection of Accountability and Communication in Business

I find it so interesting when facilitating a conversation to an organization on accountability and we keep coming back to the business foundational principle of effective communication. These two foundational principles in business, communication and accountability are so intertwined, I cannot separate them when facilitating a session.

Understanding Accountability, including Communication

Before one can successfully focus on accountability, which requires team members to accept responsibility for their actions and the outcomes of those actions, there must be clearly defined expectations for success for that area of responsibility. Many employees will deliver excellent results when they fully understand the task being asked to perform. Yes, without a clear and concise definition of what success looks like, those same employees will meander aimlessly in search of what they perceive to be a successful outcome.  It is critical that when a manager or leader provides a clear and concise definition of success that the individual or team responsible for it can tell that manager/leader what that success looks like to them.  Do these two, the managers/leaders and the employee/team definition clearly align?  If they don’t there will never be successful accountability.   

Questions to consider providing this alignment on a task or project:

• What does success look like for this project/task?

• What are the specific outcomes we're aiming for? 

• What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) for this initiative?

• What are the potential roadblocks, and how can we mitigate them?

• How does this align with our overall team or company goals?