Getting the most from your team through Accountability

Rick White, President 180BIZ

Yes - I'm going to talk to you about... drum roll please... Accountability.

Why do I think this is a big deal? Well, telling yourself all the amazing things that you're going to do, whether it's professional or personally is really awesome. And at the same time, it's completely useless.

You lie to yourself all the time.

Because you lie to yourself all the time. You judge others by their actions, but you by your intentions. So even if you didn't get something done that you want to do that day,'it's ok' because you planned it that way. You wanted to do it. You just couldn't. The fact that it was on your plate was a good thing and you’ll do it tomorrow. 

How's this working for you?  My bet is it's not.

Accountability is the secret sauce. 

But you have to approach it correctly.  In this article, I lay out a strategy with four easy steps.  Follow them and you'll make the sauce work for YOU.

The first step is creating CLARITY.

Let's say, for example, your business is growing and you want to grow it more. That's the goal. But it can't be about "making more money".  Because there is nothing there to hold yourself accountable to.  Because you could make one dollar more. And that would be making more money. I know that's not what you want, but 

the clearer you are on your destination, the more likely you are to achieve it.

So in the example above, you need to be CLEAR about how much more money you actually want to make to consider the goal met.  That gives you have a really fantastic ruler to measure your performance with.

So, CLARITY is the very first secret to accountability. Clearly understanding what your destination looks like. Then you can really go after it.

The next secret is SOCIAL FACILITATION.

Basically, this means we tend to perform better when others are looking at us. So the second step to better accountability is telling others what your goals are. What are your destinations? Get out there and tell as many people as you possibly can. I even like to set up rewards for achieving and penalties for not achieving them. I want to apply as much pleasure to achieve the thing I want and as much pain to not achieving it.

I’ve heard stories of people saying they will write a check to an organization they absolutely hate if they don't achieve their goal. Boy, that gives them some drive, some incentive. There's “towards” drive and “away from” drive. You can use both of them. It's the carrot and the stick. It really works well when you use them in tandem. So, by telling other people what your goals are, it adds a level of accountability because now you've got people watching you.  

Consider an accountability partner where you meet on a regular basis and hold each other accountable for the different things that you say you're going to do.

So the first strategy for increased accountability is CLARITY. The second is to TELL OTHERS.

The third is going to sound silly in the beginning, but please listen to me on this. The third strategy for increasing accountability is to

DO IT FOR OTHER PEOPLE.

We do things for other people that we would never do for ourselves. I know first hand, I do it all the time. I am so wired to do for others that sometimes I have a hard time doing for myself. I feel selfish. 'It's not the right thing to do.'

Here's an example.

Let's say in the past, you've wanted to increase sales. You wanted more profit in the business. You've been struggling with it but every time you sit down to set a sales goal that's really out there, it feels kind of sleazy and self-serving.

A way around that is to tie something that you can do for other people to the goal that you want.

So to increase profit, set a sales goal and commit to provide health insurance not just for your employees but for their families too. So, the goal is to achieve the sales number so that you can make the health insurance happen. All of a sudden you find it's a lot easier to achieve the goal because you're doing it for somebody else.

Instead of feeling sleazy and self-serving, it now feels really good.

So setting a goal and then doing it for other people is a really amazing way to go.

The last secret I have for increased accountability is to

HIRE A COACH.

One of my jobs as a coach is to hold people accountable for what they say they're going to do. It's critically important.  

When we were kids, our parents held us accountable. Our teachers held us accountable. Our scout leaders held us accountable. Our religious leaders held us accountable. The we entered the workforce, and we had managers and supervisors and owners that held us accountable for the things that we should be doing. But once you become the owner, there's no one above you, but the good Lord.

Because of that, you end up in a situation where there's no one else to hold you accountable.

It's really easy to put things off. So, hire a coach. That'll be somebody that's not above you but is there to hold you to a standard that you have set for yourself.

Every one of us wants to become a better version of ourselves. And we talk about it all the time, but it's not going to make a difference until we act on it. It’s not going to make a difference until we live and grow toward that vision we have for ourselves. Hiring a coach can be an amazing gift to yourself to help you get there. 

Why do you think CEOs have a board of directors? Because the directors hold the CEO accountable. Why do companies have shareholders? Because shareholders hold the board of directors accountable. Do you see what I'm saying?

The more accountability you have in your business, the more your business will run effectively and successfully. And the less stress you'll have.

Bottom line, Accountability starts with you.

And then it trickles down. You show other people how true you are to your word and do the things that you say you're going to do when you say you're going to do them. It makes all the difference in the world.

So, start with you. And then watch what happens.  NOW you see the REAL impact.

Your level of accountability goes up in the shop. You TOLERATE less. And as you tolerate less, your business starts to run smoother.  Your standards are no longer something you talk about.  You hold people accountable to them. You start to get better results from your team. Your team becomes more engaged.

Accountability is truly the answer.

So as a quick recap...

1. Number one, CLARITY. Be crystal clear on your destination.
2. Number two, TELL OTHERS, get others involved.
3. Number three, don't make it about you getting something, DO IT FOR OTHERS.
4. And then number four, HIRE A COACH. It makes all the difference in the world.

Implement these steps in your business TODAY to increase accountability and you will see changes start happening in your business THIS WEEK.

Until next week, take care, stay safe, God Bless and go make some money!

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