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Accountability: The Missing Link?

Article Overview: Are you a successful leader? Do you have patience, courage and determination? Do you have a plan in place? Leadership requires foresight and the ability to effectively set expectations balanced with consistently managing performance.

Free Download - Is Supervision Part of Leadership? By David Liddell

Accountability: The Missing Link?

Being a leader takes courage, determination, patience, and planning; that is, if you want to be a successful leader. Any "Average Joe" can be given a title but leading is not about wearing a badge. It requires foresight and the ability to effectively set expectations balanced with consistently managing performance. That last part is what derails many leaders' effectiveness and raises the question for many companies, "Why can't we get the performance we want from our employees? They have so much more potential". The underlying theme here is accountability. It's as elusive as a needle in a hay stack for countless organizations. But why? Is it not a logical part of managing the business? It is but practiced consistently, it is not. Here are some reasons I have encountered while working with leaders at all levels...

Most people (including managers) don't like confrontation.
Initial expectations have been set poorly.
Managers want their employees to "like" them.
The company culture is too "easy going" or "laid back".
There are no consequences for poor performance.
Performance goals are ambiguous or not easily measured.

Holding your employees accountable should not be confused with motivating them to reach their full potential but these are two interrelated skills a leader should possess and exercise at the appropriate opportunities.

Motivating employees requires leaders to understand what is at the root of each employee's passion in life. For example, most healthcare workers are driven (at some level) by a passion to take care of others. For engineers, it could be discovery or innovation. Armed with this knowledge, leaders should leverage their motivational energy to encourage their employees to take on more responsibilities and new challenges.

The practice of accountability is slightly more fundamental and necessary for those employees who don't measure up to the minimum performance requirements. It is a high performance building block that starts with leaders establishing clear goals and objectives; and helping employees understand how their efforts contribute to the overall success of the organization. They need to know what is expected of them, how to improve, what they are doing well, and how their efforts are measured. The key ingredients are accuracy and consistency.

Increasing the level of accountability in your organization will produce noticeable improvements related to productivity, efficiency, growth and sustainable success.

Start today! Assess your organization's level of accountability and look for the best approach to improve your performance management capability.

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Article Tags: employee performance, missing link, performance accountability, performance management capability

About the Author: David Liddell
RSS for David's articles - Visit David's website

David Liddell, president and founder of SKYE Business Solutions, is an insightful and

trusted advisor to organizations interested in improving their performance and results.

Based on more than 20 years of experience in organizational and business

development, he objectively evaluates organizations and their employees to identify

opportunities for increased efficiencies and productivity. Recognizing that employees

play a key role in a company's performance, David utilizes his analysis to create

customized employee training and development solutions designed to enhance

employee performance, leadership skills, team building, strategy planning and

organizational development.

He is widely respected for his skills as an expert problem solver, trainer, speaker,

facilitator and coach. As a certified 360 Solutions training partner and Profiles

International strategic business partner, he brings proven expertise to his creation of

customized employee development solutions.

Areas of Expertise

David has assisted numerous companies in improving employee and organizational performance. Using

a blended approach (assessments, training, coaching, strategic planning, and consulting), following is a

sample of results achieved:

Improved core leadership strength and alignment
Increased sales performance / business growth
Maximized production throughput and workforce productivity
Enhance organizational culture to foster a high performance mind-set (employee engagement)
Elevated trust / improved communication and collaboration
Ensured successful formation and execution on strategic objectives and goals

Background and Credentials

Prior to founding SKYE Business Solutions, David honed his skills in organizational and business

development, sales and marketing, business growth, and employee retention, training and coaching

through his work in the manufacturing, technology distribution, computer software, and information

technology consulting industries.

David holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Concordia University and is active in numerous

community and professionals organizations.

Click here to visit David's website