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For decades leaders have been focused on how to hold their direct reports accountable. Success in this arena has varied from person to person, project to project and leader to leader. Most leaders would probably say that things could be better, like "I wish I could get my people to be more accountable."
Some leaders have found a new approach to accountability improvement that is gaining momentum in the workplace. Many leaders that I speak with have changed their thinking and actions and are on a new track now. Perhaps this is not so surprising. Leaders have been looking for ways to shift how they spend their time so that they can be more productive.
Let's face it technology can only take productivity so far. The current data suggests that productivity has stalled. Hence, it is time for something new. One possibility is something I call "reverse accountability". How does it work?
What's happening more and more is that people are holding themselves accountable. They seem to prefer this approach. At a meeting of business leaders that I attended last week, they all spoke positively about their experience with reverse accountability. How does it work?
Up until recently accountability meant that the leader held his/her direct reports accountable for their work. Reverse accountability means that the direct report holds him/herself accountable for work results as a direct report to the leader. After all, who knows the work better than the person who is actually getting it done!
Requests for assistance may be the most important variable when using reverse accountability. Whenever an issue is blocking action the employee goes to the leader for help. Providing assistance reinforces the trust relationship between the leader and the direct report. A trust relationship may be the key to whether or not reverse accountability will be useful for a leader and his/her people.
Reverse accountability discussions are held on a regularly scheduled basis. The frequency of the discussions depends upon the nature of the employee's work. They could be as frequent as every two weeks or once every two or three months. The leader and employee should decide this question together. Interim meetings on a particular task or project would certainly be appropriate. Whatever the meeting schedule, the employee gathers all the data and information for the meeting leaving the leader more time to get his or her other work done.
You may remember that Stephen Covey wrote an entire book on "trust." Barely a week goes by that I don't hear trust connected with accountability. The only thing I can say about it here is that if reverse accountability is going to work for a leader he/she must be a trust builder.
So, are you ready to use reverse accountability? Remember two things to help you decide:
Robert C. Preziosi, D.P.A., is Professor of Management in the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, Nova Southeastern University, and can be reached at preziosi@nova.edu.