How to Hold Employees Accountable

November 26, 2019 Employee Performance and Coaching

9 Expert Tips For Holding People Accountable…. And Micromanaging is Not One of Them

From a manager’s perspective, accountability is a cornerstone of an effective organization. After all, when accountability is a core value of a business, people do what they say, they meet their commitments, and staffers are willing to fess up when they’ve made a mistake – without fear of retribution. As idyllic as this sounds, though, building a culture of accountability can be extremely difficult.

The reason why we as managers are always talking about accountability is because it’s the one thing that ensures the job gets done as planned. If employees don’t feel the need to follow through on their commitments, when they lack the drive to find ways around unexpected roadblocks and they are unwilling to go the extra mile when needed, results will always suffer.

Great managers know how to create an environment in which accountability is paramount. They do this by maintaining open communication with their staff, building a culture of trust, and by treating staffers with respect. They practice what they preach.

And, good leaders don’t micromanage – because they don’t need to! Let’s take a closer look at how you can drive accountability within your organization without feeling like (or becoming!) a micromanager.

Why Micromanaging Doesn’t Work… Over the Long Haul

There is a natural tendency for us as managers – who are ultimately responsible for the team’s performance – to micromanage critical situations. Even if we don’t realize we’re doing it, we want to reassure ourselves that Johnny will get that report out on Friday because it has a lot of visibility. We’ve all been there: the only way we can get that feeling of satisfaction is to check in on Johnny every 18 minutes to ensure he’s on track. Is it a successful approach every now and then? Yes. Should you do it? No. Will Johnny catch on? You bet.

Despite the natural urge, micromanaging is actually counter-productive. Additionally, employees will come to recognize your behavior and most will grow to dislike it. Have you ever heard someone say “My boss is a micromanager and I love it!’ ? In short, your unwillingness to holdback will hurt you in the long run.

Simple Reasons Why Micromanaging Doesn’t Drive Accountability

Want some specific reasons? Here are just a few…

1. Accountability is About Employee Behavior, not Manager Oversight

For starters, the reason micromanaging employees doesn’t drive accountability is because accountability is about the employee’s behavior, not the manager’s. Micromanaging your workforce usually won’t change behavior because your employees don’t have time between their interactions with you to take things forward on their own.

2. It Actually Wastes Time

Yes, you want to make sure things are getting done. But, don’t lose sight of the fact that asking for frequent status updates or stopping by an employee’s cubicle multiple times a day takes their time away from doing the one thing you need them to really do – their job. Excessive status-tracking is a form of administrative waste.

3. Employees Take Notice

If you have a tendency to micromanage, or at least scratch the surface of it, your employees will always take notice. No one likes a boss who’s constantly peering over them. And, many workers who feel their boss micromanages them are less likely to take ownership in what they’re doing. After all, they know the boss will be at their desk shortly to give them the next set of instructions, so why bother trying to go further?

How to Hold Employees Accountable… Without the Micromanaging

Ok, so micromanaging won’t work, but what should I do? In order to drive accountability, let’s define what that term means. Here are four key traits of an accountable employee or team:

First, employees take ownership for assignments and follow through on their commitments.
Second, staffers routinely seek help when unforeseen circumstances arise that may affect the desired outcome
Third, he or she communicates when changes are necessary to recalibrate expectations beforehand
Fourth, employees take responsibility when they are unsuccessful or fall short

In order to drive accountability, your management approach must center on these elements. Now, let’s talk specifics. Here are 9 tips for driving accountability within your organization.

0. Lead by Example

Rule 0 is essential – so much so, that it’s not even one of our nine tips. Before we can talk about employee accountability, we must remember that we as managers need to lead by example. If we’re not accountable for our own actions, how can we expect our staff to be accountable for theirs?

For example, if you’re pushing an employee to be more punctual and on-time to meetings, yet you are perpetually late yourself, you’re unlikely to see the employee’s behavior change substantially. Why would they?

Every effort to drive accountability within your team will be futile if you are not delivering on your own promises and commitments. Always remember that your own behavior sets the standard for behavior of our employees. As the old saying goes, practice what you preach!

1. Set Expectations of the Outcome

Many managers, when unhappy with an employee’s performance, will say an employee is ‘not meeting expectations.’ But, is it an employee performance issue if the standard for performance was not clearly defined? If you want to drive accountability in your department, you first need to be clear with expectations of the outcome.

Setting exceptions is the What; it’s the definition of the objective and the goal. As part of the discussion with the employee, you should identify:

What the assignment is
Who the stakeholders are (who will be the end recipient?)
The individual’s role (leading a team, supporting someone else, or owning the task by him or herself)

2. Explain Why the Task is Important

A common mistake managers make is neglecting to communicate why a task is important. Failure to complete a task may be perceived by the manager as an accountability problem, when instead, the employee simply did not have a clear enough picture as to why something was needed. The task just ended up being one more thing to do.

To avoid this, take the time to clearly explain why something is important and why it will be needed. What will the assignment lead to? How will the result be used? How will it benefit or contribute to the organization’s success?

Describing why a given assignment is important allows employees to naturally associate their effort with the fact that someone is depending on them. It’s also a great way to get employees to own their assignments.

3. Outline a Plan for Success

A plan for success is another important component of driving accountability within your team.

When you sit down with your employee to kick off a given assignment, discuss some steps or check points he or she should pass through along the way.

Even better, ask your employee to identify how he or she intends to go about the project. A jointly developed plan brings their ideas and thought process into the discussion rather than you just telling the staffer what to do. Using their ideas to define the approach is a great way to introduce their personal ownership of the assignment.

4. Agree on a Timeline… That’s Rooted in Reality

A big component of organizational accountability is meeting commitments, which is business lingo for, well, meeting deadlines. Bear in mind, though, that you can only drive accountability if you’re setting realistic promise dates. If you’re pushing employees to do three weeks of work in less than one week, you’re just asking for problems.

Here are some specific tips for establishing a reasonable timeline:

Ask how long they need to complete the task (their estimate can also be an indicator of how well they understand the assignment)
Discuss any other activities of priorities he or she is currently working on that should be considered
Plan around personal leave and holidays (don’t ask for a major report to be submitted the day after they get back from vacation)

5. Define the Desired Deliverable

Employee accountability is not just about achieving results, it’s also about the quality and accuracy of those results.

If you are expecting a thorough financial analysis and recommendation from your employee but do not calibrate with your analyst on the type of output you’re looking for, there is no telling what they’ll come back with. Chances are, it won’t be aligned to what you had in mind.

Make sure the deliverable you are looking for is agreed with the employee.

6. Set a Communication Plan

Leaders who micromanage often do so because they are really looking for more communication as reassurance that the task is getting done. To keep yourself from slipping down the micromanaging path, set up an expected communication plan with your employee. If you want to know the details once a week, ask for a weekly update. If you’re looking for status updates at every milestone, identify the dates when those milestones will be reached, and schedule a discussion with the employee on those days.

Even if you have an urgent assignment that needs to be done that very day, ask for an update at lunch, but let them spend the rest of their time working.

7. Gain Buy In

If you simply sit and go on a 20 minute explanation of what you want and send your employee on his or her way, you may set yourself up for disappointment. As mentioned earlier, driving accountability is really about employee behavior so engage them and have them build their plan with you. For example:

Ask him/her how they think they might approach the task.
Ask the employee for where they see risks or challenges in the assignment.
Request the employee summarize their assessment of the assignment back to you to confirm understanding.
Simply ask him or her if they have any questions.

Structuring the dialog this way and having the employee confirm he or she understands what is needed is a great way to get their commitment – in doing so, they’ve already acknowledged the need, the request and the timeframe.

8. A Little Documentation Can Go A Long Way

Documentation is an excellent tool for driving accountability in your organization. Examples can include:

- An e-mail sent after the discussion to summarize the expectations, approach and deliverable.
- A hand-written set of notes, or sketches made during the actual discussion.
- A photograph of your whiteboard when the two of you mapped out the game plan.

Documentation of assignment is also helpful because it allows the employee to refer back to the information for ideas and to ensure they have covered all aspects of the task.

9. Define Expectations for Change

As much as we’re talking about accountability and meeting commitments, we also cannot ignore the fact that no plan is perfect and that life happens.

Ensure the employee knows how to communicate a change in the plan. If there must be a date change, an unexpected problem has emerged, or help is needed, set a plan for what you expect the employee to do. Problems can always arise; make sure you explain how you want them to be addressed.

Ultimately, the intent here is to make sure the employee raises issues before the they become a problem or affect the end result.

Final Tips on Driving Accountability Without Micromanaging

Whether you address each of these aspects in a single conversation (typically for a shorter task or assignment), or step through them over time in the case of longer projects, each element has an important role to play in driving accountability in your organization. Always remember that accountability starts with you, the manager. Don’t set expectations higher than those you would expect to achieve yourself, and clearly communicate expectations. Micromanaging is counter-productive – your goal should be to make accountability part of your team’s culture.