Inspiring Accountability
Cathie Leimbach • January 24, 2023
In your organization, how often are tasks not completed to your satisfaction and on time? For most of us this is a common reality. This article outlines important steps for helping your team members be accountable for regularly getting important work done well.
First, let’s look at a definition of accountability.
Accountability is where team members hold themselves and each other responsible for fulfilling their commitments in a positive and productive way.
Now, we’ll consider the steps a leader can follow to position their team and each team member for success.
- Clearly define the results you want achieved by when. Be very specific. For example, “Complete the first full draft of the annual report in Microsoft Word, including the layout, footers with page numbers, table of contents, and other introductory pages, and email the Word document to me by February 19, 2023, at 4:00 pm Central Time.”
- Ask your team member what training, resources, or help they may need to achieve this. Determine if you will provide this support or assign the work to someone else who is a better fit for it – and communicate your decision.
- Ask the person you are delegating this work to, “On a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being the highest, how committed are you to fulfilling this responsibility?” If they aren’t a 10, ask what they would need to be a 10. Work with them to fill the gaps, or if they really aren’t a right fit, assign the work to someone else.
- Collaborate with your team member to set up a monitoring timeline and method to check progress periodically along the way. This ensures there are opportunities for the team member to alert you to bottlenecks and seek help if necessary. Praise them for their progress, encourage them to try to solve problems along the way, and guide them in making effective decisions.
- Tell your team member to reach out to you for help if they can’t resolve challenges in a timely. Ask them to alert you whenever they discover something beyond their control that may delay the completion date or impact work quality.
- Celebrate their success when they achieve expectations! When people are acknowledged for doing the job well it builds their confidence and commitment, increasing their future success.
Yes, leaders have to be very intentional when delegating work and responsibilities. However, when we take the time to set the stage for accountability, more will get accomplished and everyone will experience stronger workplace morale.
Artificial Intelligence is becoming a powerful workplace tool. It can summarize information, analyze data, draft content, and generate ideas in seconds. But there is a growing risk leaders need to recognize: AI can sound convincing even when it is wrong. In an article by Erica Dhawan, she describes a legal case where attorneys used ChatGPT to help prepare a court filing. The brief looked professional, the reasoning seemed logical, and the citations appeared legitimate. There was only one problem: several of the cited cases did not exist. The AI had fabricated them. The danger wasn't carelessness. It was trust. Because the information was presented clearly, confidently, and professionally, nobody stopped to question it. Psychologists call this the "fluency heuristic"—our tendency to assume information is accurate when it is easy to process and sounds credible. As leaders, we cannot allow polished answers to replace critical thinking. When you find yourself thinking, "This is too good to be true," put your brain in gear. Dig deeper. Investigate. Verify the facts. Ask what assumptions were made, what information might be missing, and what evidence supports the conclusion. AI can be an incredible assistant. It should never become a substitute for judgment. The smooth answer is not always the wrong one—but it is often the one that deserves the most scrutiny. Before You Act, Verify. The biggest risk with AI isn't bad information. It's believable information that's wrong. That's why we created the AI Verification Checklist for Leaders —a simple 5-minute tool designed to help leaders challenge assumptions, identify missing information, verify conclusions, and make better decisions before acting on AI-generated recommendations. Download the free AI Verification Checklist for Leaders and start asking better questions before making important decisions.
Most leaders want better performance. They want employees who take ownership, solve problems, adapt to change, and consistently deliver results. Yet Gallup reports that only 31% of employees are engaged at work. That means nearly 7 out of 10 employees are not fully applying their talents, effort, and initiative to their roles. The question leaders should be asking isn't simply: "Why aren't employees performing?" It's: "Are we developing people to perform at their best?" Gallup's latest research suggests many organizations may be falling behind. Nearly 6 in 10 CHROs say employee development is one of the areas where their organization struggles most. At the same time, fewer than half of U.S. employees have participated in training or education to build new skills for their current job. That gap creates risk. As AI, technology, customer expectations, and job responsibilities continue to evolve, employees cannot meet changing expectations with outdated skills. The impact is especially significant among high performers. Gallup found that organizations providing fewer development opportunities are more likely to lose their best people. The good news is that development doesn't require expensive programs or lengthy workshops. It starts with leaders who consistently: • Connect strengths to daily work • Clarify expectations • Provide meaningful feedback • Coach performance • Hold growth-focused conversations One of the most effective ways leaders can support employee development is through regular 1-on-1 meetings with each direct report. These conversations create opportunities to coach, remove obstacles, align priorities, and discuss growth before problems become bigger issues. For practical ideas, read our resource: 5 Factors in Successful 1-on-1s . Organizations that thrive won't simply expect more from employees. They'll develop people so they can contribute more. Because when employees grow, performance grows with them.