How to Hold Your Team Accountable - Episode 9

Episode 9 - How to Hold Your Team Accountable - TRANSCRIPT - (This transcript has been created with AI, and therefore there may be errors.) The LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT RESET Episode 9- Podcast How to Hold Your Team Accountable with Sharon Smith Let me start with something that might feel familiar. You've delegated something you've explained what needs to happen or at least you think you've done so as clearly as you could at the time. And then things go a little bit quiet you're not hearing anything from the person you delegated to.

And you can't see things moving forward. So you start wondering, has it been done? Are they perhaps stuck? Maybe they've just got too much workload and they haven't started yet?

Has it slipped down that priority list like you're thinking it may have? So what do you do? You may be checking you drop a quick email saying hey just checking in on this. Or maybe you don't because you don't want to come across as hovering or as micromanaging.

And over time it often goes one of two ways. You either find yourself following up more and more because you're becoming increasingly anxious about what's happening. Or you end up picking it up and doing it yourself. And neither option feels good for you.

Let's face it. You've got your own workload. You don't need to be chasing. You don't need to be doing.

One of them faces feels like it's micromanaging which you don't want to be doing you don't want to be known as the manager who micromanagers and the other can feel like you're carrying more than you should. You have got plenty to be getting on with. And that just gets really draining over time. So today, I want to explore a slightly different way of approaching accountability.

One that helps create clarity without needing to constantly chase or step in. So let's get started. Let's start by gently reframing what accountability means because it's something that can be interpreted in a lot of ways. As often associated with control or checking in frequently.

But it doesn't necessarily have to look like that. One helpful way to think about accountability is that ownership becomes visible. In other words, it's not just that something has been delegated. It's that you can see progress happening along the way.

Now that might look like someone following through in what they said they do. Or sharing updates before something becomes an issue. Not after the fact, but early enough for you to make any adjustments that you need around by support or timelines or whatever that might be. Or that person taking responsibility without needing a reminder, which is really you know that's a cherry on the cake, isn't it?

And here's a subtle chef that can make a difference. Delegating something clearly doesn't always guarantee accountability. And it's really worth remembering that you can delegate something to a tip member of your team. That doesn't always mean that they are going to take ownership and accountability of it.

But when progress is visible, when you know what's happening, it becomes much easier for you as a line manager to trust that things are moving forward. And when that visibility isn't there. That's often where the uncertainty starts to creep in. From your point of view as the line manager, not knowing what's happening not knowing if there's momentum going forward.

And perhaps also from the team member you've delegated to because they're perhaps not sure what it is really that you're after. And so are sitting on it. Rather than asking for further support or making a start. So when accountability starts to to drift, it's not where you want things to be.

But often that doesn't show up in obvious ways. That drift can be more gradual. So for example, deadlines might get pushed back so we've got we've got project creep there where things happen and and. Where our team member might say I'm not quite there yet so you push back the deadline a little bit.

Something might come back, not quite finished, so you might ask for an update and something that's meant to be done not quite finished. And updates might become less frequent or they might even stop altogether. That quietness can be and perhaps should be an early signal for you as a lead manager. Because when your team member is really owning something, there's usually some level of communication around about it because they're keen to share with you their progress.

When that team member isn't communicating with you. When it starts to fade and go quiet. That's when things start to feel unclear. And you start to feel and manager that things are happening.

So you then naturally might start to think about it more. Okay? You follow up a little bit more. You're holding it in your head a little bit more and all of a sudden it becomes extra baggage that's not used to hold because you've delegated it.

And so that responsibility is starting to drift back towards you, okay? Simply because you're not fully confident that it's being handled properly. And that's where it become can become a bit of a cycle. The more you step in, the less space that is for someone to fully own it.

Now, I love a one to one. I love the role of a one to one and I think one to ones are crucial for any line manager to ensure that people have clarity on what they've been delegated. And know that they have your support. When they are struggling.

So when we're thinking about improving our team members accountability. Rather than checking in more often. Or staying closer to the work by observing you know going into files seeing if there's been progress done. Sometimes it's less about having those.

Random touch points and more about having a structure in place. And that's where I come back to one to ones. I think they are one of the most useful and sometimes underused tools for. Team managers and for leaders.

A one to one. Rather than being about. One to one's become a consistent space where accountability naturally says. So instead of updates happening randomly throughout the week, there's a shared understanding.

This is when I come prepared to give my update. And the questions #ah that the Lane manager might ask don't need to be complicated. They can be things like okay so what progress has happened since we last spoke? What's on track?

What might we be at risk of dropping here? Where would support help? So instead of the team member reacting to check-ins, those random ones that you've been doing up till that point the person is coming ready to share. So over time that consistency that regular one to one can encourage more forward thinking.

More preparation. And a stronger sense of ownership. Which often means less chasing overall for you. I know a lot of leaders really don't like doing one to one's because they feel it's time out of their diaries it's time out of their own workspace.

It's time. They sometimes feel like it's in fact time for micromanaging and it's not. What it is is time for support, but it's also time for team accountability. You're not going into one to one with a big stick shaking it at your team member.

You're actually watering your team member. Think of it as your weekly watering or your monthly watering or however regular you do your one to ones. Think of it as the time that you water. And support and feed that member of your team just as you would a plant.

You are asking your team member. What help they need? How is it going? What it's looking like?

You might even do some coaching conversations and ask them what they would do differently or what they're learning from this or what they would do next. So really encourage and have these one to ones as regularly as possible, so that you are satisfied as a line manager, that you have, um, knowledge of what's happening, knowledge about your team members' clarity, knowledge about the pace and direction of the work. But it's also an opportunity for you to build a trusting relationship with your team member.

And also for them to grow. Another great way to develop team accountability is to reinforce what's working. It's something that can be easily overlooked as a leader. That acknowledging when accountability is already happening.

So it's really easy to focus on what's not working because you know we are highly um aware of when things aren't going well. But that's only part of the picture of the work that your team do. When you notice someone taking ownership when they take responsibility when they are proactive. Even in small tiny ways.

It can really help to call it out. It doesn't need to be over the top. But it might sound something like I've noticed you flagged that early that was really helpful. Thank you.

Or I appreciated the update before it became an issue. Thank you. Or I saw how you followed that through. That was great.

Thanks very much. Simple specific recognition. Because over time, what gets noticed tends to become more consistent. And that helps shape what good looks like across the team.

But of course, there are times when ownership isn't there. It's just not showing up in a way that you'd hoped for if you've set your expectations and your standards for your team and how you want to work. And it's not being addressed. By one member or more of your team, they are not taking ownership.

Then this can become really difficult for you as a line manager to address it. It can be tempting to wait and see if things improve. Or to hint. At it indirectly, but often what helps most is being clear and I've spoken about clarity.

before and often. But being clear while staying calm and constructive. And if you're wanting some support and having difficult conversations, then please listen to episode 7 of this podcast where I've taught that through. But if you were, wanting to approach a member of staff who is not being accountable.

And doing that in a can we, you might want to see something along the lines of, I've noticed a few deadlines have slipped, and I'm not always seeing updates out of time. Can we talk about how to make progress more visible going forward? Now that keeps the tone open, but it still brings clarity to what's happening. It's very clear what you as a line manager have noticed.

It's very clear that the expectations and time frames are not being met. And that clarity are those that clarity that you've observes are facts. And you need to have a conversation about how to shift that. No, and one to ones if you're having them that would be part of your ongoing conversation and actually if you're having regular one to ones then accountability should be in place already.

But if one to ones are not in place and you are noticing things have slipped, then you have to dress it sooner rather than later, because the longer you leave it, the more likely you are going to have to pick up the work yourself. Because the progress has fallen so far behind that now needs emergency all hands on deck approach. And you've actually not dealt with the behaviours of your team member. Setting and holding the standard of your expectations for the people who are in your team and how we you all should work is really important.

Normally over time every team develops a sense of what's expected. whether you've actually clearly stated that or not as a line manager. And when those expectations are consistent, people will respond to those expectations. They do so differently.

Someone actually step up and some many a bit more support and actually that are those that will take much longer to adjust. But part of leadership is making that standard visible. Now that's not in a forceful way, but it's in a clear and steady way. Where everyone understands what good looks like here what good service looks like here if you're got if you have outer facing clients.

What good standard of recording looks like here, what good standard of communication and email correspondence looks like here. What good standard of response rate to something looks like here? Because when you don't have that clarity. Then different levels of effort and ownership are then undertaken by your team.

And that's where frustration can start to build. Because there's no equity of effort. So as far as you're concerned as a leader, that's something you want to avoid completely. You want your team to be all working, happily, all working very hard, being productive, being forward thinking and all taking ownership and responsibility for what's been delegated to them.

And for that to happen, it is really important that you set good standards and you hold them. And you hold them because you are having regular conversations about what work looks like through one to one's. So I should reflect on this a useful place to start might be. Where in your team does accountability feel a little unclear right now?

So who's not stepping up? Who's not sharing updates? Who is not holding the standard that you've set? And then what's one small shift that you could do tomorrow?

That could help your team member make their ownership their responsibility more visible to you. Now, what do I mean by that? Simple terms. How can they share their progress with you easily so that you are satisfied that they are taking their role and the work that's delegated to them seriously and that they're moving it forward?

Often, it's not about using a manager doing more, but it's about you doing things differently. You need to create that space that allows the conversations about clarity. For your team about where they are, what they're doing, how they're doing it. At the pace that they're doing it and having those conversations consistently.

So that it, the expectations there, the team member is on top of the work they're feeding back to you regularly. And you're not having to do those random chasing. Wondering to yourself. Are they on it or are they not?

And when you are consistent in your practice. And remember, this is not micro management. This is organisational focus when you're consistent in your systems and how you expect your team to deliver to you. By feeding back to you in regular one to ones.

Time frame dependent, obviously on the project and the urgency of the work. Then things will start to fall into place and you will be more knowledgable about what's happening. And you will be camera and you will feel your role later because you are not overthinking things. You're chasing less you're carrying less and there's more of a shared sense of responsibility across your team.

Because through your one to ones as well, they know you have their back. Because every time you're asking them. What can you do to help or support them? So if this resonated, you might share it with someone who else who's navigating similar challenges.

And I'll see you in the next episode. Have a good one.