When you are the top dog in a company or organization, who are you accountable to? Of course if you head a public company, or have an outside fiduciary board, or investors, they ultimately are who you report to.
But I’m talking about when you lead a private company, with no outside board. Who checks in with you or pushes you when deadlines or budget targets are looming?
It’s a tough call. It’s easy to say that as a company leader, you know what you need to do. And you could say you’re self-motivated, or competitive.
But the reality is, when you have a real deadline such as reporting results at a meeting with others, your performance improves.
My recommendation to most company leaders is to either join a peer group of other company leaders (groups such as Vistage (https://www.vistage.com ), Entrepreneurs’ Organization (https://eonetwork.org) or others) where you meet regularly to report results and problem solve. Alternatively, I also recommend working with a business coach who gets to know you and your business and has experience in growing businesses.
But sometimes those options are not available to you or you are not willing to invest in them.
Alternatively, the best option is to find two (not one) accountability partners. I say two, not one, as it is easy to make your excuses when it’s to a single person. Excuses for not making calls, closing business, meeting deadlines. But if you have two people you’re accountable to, then one of the two will call you on the B.S.
If you have a senior leadership team in your organization, then I suggest having regular accountability meetings with that team. Probably once every 2-3 weeks. Agree on what your goals and objectives are, with deadlines and firm measures. Then during your meetings, each of you (including you, the boss) reports on what your goals are, how you performed against the goals and set new goals.
No excuses! No cancelling check-in meetings (nothing should get in the way of them). No fibbing on your goals or progress.
If as a leader, you demonstrate personal accountability for your commitments and actions, you will be setting a great example for your team and will achieve more, faster, than if you didn’t have accountability partners.
The sign of a great leader is when you can admit that you missed a deadline, missed a target, or didn’t do what you said you would do, to another peer. You set an example for your accountability partners who may be your employees, your family members or business friends.
Can you hold yourself accountable? You definitely have a chance to, as long as you’re willing to partner up with others who are looking for accountability. I don’t believe you can do it alone.
Onward and upward,
Executive Coaching and Consulting for business CEOs, Owners and Presidents
If you are looking to grow your business or amplify your personal leadership skills, I would love to have a conversation with you. You can email me at [email protected] for a no obligation conversation.
