How to create a culture of soft accountability in 3 steps

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I see it every week: the frustration with missed deadlines, the I'll get it to you by tomorrow commitment floating around until next week, the helplessness of always waiting for the same person to follow through on what they said they would do. So many leaders I work with are discouraged by their culture of accountability, not only because they believe they can't trust their reports, but also because they really want to. They feel like they're on a tightrope, balancing between being a compassionate, inspirational leader and a deadline-conscious badass.

Accountability is an important part of culture, but according to the Partners in Leadership (now Culture Partners) Accountability in the Workplace Study, up to 93% of employees are "unable to align their work or to take responsibility for the desired results". How do effective leaders maintain this tension between empowering and committing to results? How do they motivate their team while keeping an eye on dependencies in their work results? It begins, as it ends, with clear chords.

Related: Here's How to Foster a Culture of Accountability in Your Company

Agree on clear agreements

A clear agreement is an agreement that has three crucial elements: who will do what and when. This is all very nodding, and I see how simple it sounds. It's probably nothing new to you, actually. But like most simple and important things, it is also very difficult.

Think about your current demands or tasks that need to be done. Does everyone have a clear owner, or is ownership implied or diffused among multiple people? Is the result crystal clear and ideally in the form of a deliverable, so that the completion is unambiguous? And is there clarity on the due date of the total task or milestones? "This week" and "end of day" are not specific, and they mean different things to different people. Contrast that ambiguity with a clear, thoughtful request: "Jane, would you mind sending me a one-page summary of product features by 5:00 p.m. EST?"

The way to achieve this clarity, however, is not as simple as starting over. Of course, this clarity is valuable, but any agreement is, by definition, between two or more people. And this way of communicating is, in itself, an agreement. As a first step, take the time to share with your direct reports that you will be making clear agreements with them. Explain what you mean by this and ask them if they are also willing to make clear agreements. This gives them a chance to sign up and gives you a social contract to rely on later.

Honor most of your agreements

The Conscious Leadership Group suggests that good leaders keep about 90% of their agreements. Life happens, and no one is perfect, but the aspiration is to keep agreements as often as possible. When you realize you can't keep a deal going, act quickly to renegotiate the deal. A renegotiation means more than just letting people know that you can't keep your agreement. Just as a deal requires two or more people, so does a renegotiated deal.

The important role of the leader here is to set an example by making and honoring agreements. Building a culture of soft responsibility starts with this commitment. As a starting point, stick to the highest level of clear chords. Make it clear who, what, and when, then make your tracking visible. Hold your chords as a signal of your sincerity.

Related: How to Increase Accountability Without Burdening People's Necks

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