There is no doubt about it — if you want your company to succeed, you must be able to hold your team accountable. Holding individuals accountable for their actions is slightly more comfortable, but as a manager or business owner, you must have some way to hold multiple individuals responsible for an overall goal. Accountability is important, especially in today’s world where remote work is becoming more and more common. The following four tips can help you increase team accountability under any circumstance.
1. Clarify Your Expectations
Clarity is an important element of accountability. Before starting a project, ensure the entire team knows what is expected at both an individual and a collective level. Outline your desired outcomes from the start, and explain how those outcomes will be measured. When clarifying your expectations, you can answer any questions your employees may have so there will be no confusion. You can also schedule regular meet-ups or check-ins to ensure goals are being met, and every employee is on track to meet those goals.
2. Provide Constructive Feedback
Providing an individual with constructive feedback can be challenging enough, let alone a team composed of various individuals with different personalities and work ethics. As a manager, however, there will come a time when you have to give the right type of feedback. Providing feedback regularly can help keep communication between employees clear at all times.
It is essential to never give feedback out of anger or frustration — the ultimate goal of providing feedback should be to encourage employees to perform better. If you struggle to provide appropriate feedback, it may be wise to employ metrics and data when doing so. This way, you can back up what you have to say to your employees.
3. Connect Your Employees to Something Larger Than Themselves
If you want your team members to feel accountable, you should make sure they are truly connected to the work they are tasked with doing. When workers feel connected to something larger than themselves, they are more likely to give their all and participate with purpose. You can help your employees by connecting them to the:
- Rest of their co-workers
- Broader goals and vision of the company
- Problem and potential solutions
- Professional and personal goals they have for themselves
When your team is connected in a wider sense and feel they have the support of their leader and company, they are more likely to perform well.
4. Make Sure Consequences Are Fair and Sensible
In the workplace, all actions must have consequences, and as a supervisor, you must be sure those consequences are fair and sensible. If employees excel, you may reward them with anything you deem appropriate, such as a promotion, cash prize, or act of public appreciation. On the other hand, if an employee consistently fails to be accountable for his or her part of a project, you may have to dole out an appropriate punishment.
Contact Summit Leadership
By keeping these tips in mind, you can hold your team accountable with relative ease. New Summit Leadership can provide you with more of the guidance you need to do so. Contact us today to get started.
