The Unspoken Language of Accountability The Secrets of Top Teams Revealed Hosted by
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The Unspoken Language of
Accountability
The Secrets of Top Teams Revealed
Hosted by
Housekeeping Items
45 Minute Presentation + 15 Minute Q&AEnter questions in the chat window during presentation
in prep for Q&ASlides & Recording Available 24-48 hours after webinarGet alerts about other live events, webinars, and
podcasts at xeniumhr.comContact the moderator: [email protected]
Moderated byBrandon Laws
About the Instructor
Thomas B. Cox
● Discoverer of The Only Universal Truth of Leadership
● BA Behavioral Science (w/ honors) University of Chicago
● Consulted for PwC and IBM
● Author of 300+ articles on Leadership
● Expert on Lean and Accountability
What You Will Learn
You will learn:
What “accountability” really is
The true sources of most workplace tensions, drama, and lost productivity
The four steps that top teams always use
The incredible power of Owning the Inputs
The two types of Accountable Agreements
How to Get Started on your Journey to High Accountability
Why Accountability?
Over 50%of workers struggle with having no shared method to
reach accountable agreements or hold each other accountable.
Source: Workplace Accountability Study of 40,000 professionals by Partners in Leadership 2014
What is Accountability?
What is Accountability?
It’s the state where mutual expections are clearly SET and clearly MET.
What is Accountability?
We agreeyou didwhat we agreedyou’d do.
What is Accountability?
Integrity.Your words = your actions.1/3 of TRUST.
Think of a time when someone let you down at work...or you let them down
...someone let you down at work
(without naming names):A. Expectation that was set B. What actually happened C. Impact of the gapD. How you imagine they feelE. How you feel
...someone let you down at work
(without naming names):A. Expectation that was set: I was asked to create a
simple CRM spreadsheet to present at our business development working meeting
B. What actually happened: I worked over the weekend on it. During the meeting the following week, my work was ignored (not reviewed) and another solution was presented by the person who asked me to create my solution.
C. Impact of the gap: Distrust. Disempowered. D. How you imagine they feel: Like they did the right
thing.E. How you feel: Disempowered. Like I wasted time.
Disrespected. Frustrated, because I had been trying to get progress in this area and get some internal movement on this front.
...someone let you down at work
Feelings of Accountability
Non-performance makes you feel (at least a little):Uncomfortable (social) “I let them down”
Ashamed (emotional) “I let myself down”
Feels BadLow Accountability
Common emotions of low accountability
FrustratedBetrayedAngryDisrespectedEmbarrassed
HelplessHopelessSmallInsignificantNot cared about
Feels BadWe hate these feelings so we avoid them by...
Low Accountability
To Avoid Feeling Bad We (as DOER)...
Under-promise; Avoid any clear promiseManage Expectations (Downward)Promise effort not outcome -- “I’ll give it a try”Blame someone else -- “It’s not my fault…”
To Avoid Being Let Down We (as ASKER)...
Try to pin people downAsk, nag, seek updatesReject effort over outcome -- “Do or do not; there is no try”Hate it when they blame someone else
Notice the Tension?
As DoerAvoid any clear promise
Manage Expectations (Downward)
Promise effort not outcome -- “I’ll give it a try”
Blame someone else -- “It’s not my fault…”
As AskerTry to pin people down
Ask, nag, seek updates
Reject effort over outcome -- “Do or do not; there is no try”
Hate it when they blame someone else
Low Accountability BreedsDistrust and Destructive Conflict
So, What About High Accountability?
Think of a time when someone came through for you at work...or you came through for them
...someone came through for you at work
(without naming names):A. Expectation that was set B. What actually happened C. Impact of the gapD. How you imagine they feelE. How you feel
Feels GreatWe love the feeling so we seek it out by...
High Accountability
...someone came through for you at work
We want more so we:A. Go to that person more oftenB. Give that person more important workC. Confide in themD. Collaborate with themE. Praise them to others
How do we get more of the good stuff?
How do we get more of the good stuff?
It’s even harder than you think.
How do we get more of the good stuff?
...by learning the Unspoken Language of Accountability -- a secret language used by top performing teams in all industries and all countries.
Force Field Diagram
Forces that Increase Accountability
Forces that Decrease Accountability
Low MoralePeers’ Bad HabitsWeak/No RolesNo Method/LanguageLeader sets bad exampleLack of Skill/Training
ProfessionalismPeer SupportClearly Stated RolesA Method & LanguageLeader sets good
exampleSkill & Training
Force Affecting the Team’s Accountability
Method: The Accountability Loop
1987 Winograd & Flores
Winograd & Flores publish “Language/Action Perspective (LAP)”
How can two pieces of software reach an Accountable Agreement?
Forced to be explicit (no unstated cultural assumptions)
The Accountability Loop
AskerDoer
Adapted from Language/Action Perspective (LAP) by Winograd and Flores, 1987
The Accountability Loop
AskerDoer
Initiate
Request for Performance
Gather all the facts togetherRepeating work? Use a templateGet clear on the Ultimate OutcomeDo I need interim updates, progress reports, or samples?In what format do I want my outcome?Am I making an “unclean ask”?
Best Practices for Initiate
The Accountability Loop
AskerDoer
NegotiateInitiate
Mutual Agreement of Performance Request for
Performance
Asker:Separate the Outcome
from the MethodIs the counter-offer ok?Are they visualizing what
I’m visualizing?Ask for early updates
Best Practices for Negotiate
Doer:Do I know a better way?No weak YESes!What else am I doing?Can I commit to an
outcome, or only to effort?
Commit-to-Commit
The Accountability Loop
AskerDoer
Perform
NegotiateInitiate
Mutual Agreement of Performance
Report that Performance Is Complete
Request for Performance
Ask for help. Share bad news early. Be transparent (but don’t burden others).
Do I need clarification, a decision, or more info? (Warm ABCs)Warmly, Ask for the Actual thing I need (e.g. a
decision)By when I need itContext and Consequences of not getting it
New risks arising?Own my inputs!
Best Practices for Perform
The Accountability Loop
AskerDoer
Accept Perform
NegotiateInitiate
Mutual Agreement of Performance
Report that Performance Is Complete
Report that Performance is
Accepted
Request for Performance
Did I get the Outcome I truly needed?Which expectations were met, and did I say “thank you”?Which were NOT met, and did I challenge appropriately?Plus/Delta: How do we improve our joint process?How did I co-create the results (good and bad)?Do I need to initiate a Broken Promises conversation?
Best Practices for Accept
The Accountability Loop
AskerDoer
Accept Perform
NegotiateInitiate
Mutual Agreement of Performance
Report that Performance Is Complete
Report that Performance is
Accepted
Request for Performance
Where problems are NOTICED
The Accountability Loop
AskerDoer
Accept Perform
NegotiateInitiate
Mutual Agreement of Performance
Report that Performance Is Complete
Report that Performance is
Accepted
Request for Performance
Where problems are CREATED
The Accountability Loop
AskerDoer
Accept Perform
NegotiateInitiate
Mutual Agreement of Performance
Report that Performance Is Complete
Report that Performance is
Accepted
Request for Performance
Type into the question box ONE THING you will do differently based on today’s session
How will YOU be more accountable?
Would your team benefit from accountability training?
I train teams to be more accountable via:● Shared language● Shared practicesIf you’re a manager and want higher accountability for your team, type “call me” and your phone number in the question field.
Questions?Ask Away
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