Spotlight on Performance

I am priviledged to work with visionary executives, business leaders, entrepreneurs and world-class athletes. People who aim high and who are committed to achieving excellence in all aspects of their lives.

This is my place to share my views on sustainable high performance with you on a quarterly basis.

Q3 · 2024
Accountability and the Ownership of Collective Results

In my work with executive teams, as well as with world-class sports teams, I keep reminding the team members of the importance of accountability and the ownership of collective results. I consider these to be among two of the most critical components in building high-performing teams and healthy organizations to achieve extraordinary success – in both elite sport and business – as it will directly impact the results of collective performance.

Executives and senior leaders play a crucial role in creating a culture of accountability and ownership of collective results within an organization. As one of my dearest colleagues, Patrick ‘Pat’ Lencioni observes in his influential book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, ‘Avoidance of Accountability’ is one of the five key dysfunctions.

Pat – who kindly contributed the Foreword to one of my books, The Melting Point – is recognized as a true pioneer in leadership and business consulting (Fortune magazine described him as “one of the gurus you should know”). He is the architect of organizational health, a concept that is widely perceived as one of the key competitive advantages in business today.

Through my extensive work with sports teams and executive teams I have come to agree with Pat that if you can get your team members to think, feel and act from an inner place of owning the collective results and feeling personally accountable for them, you have achieved the most important element for outstanding success. But not only that. As I explore in The Melting Point, I would go even further than Pat by saying that the absence of accountability and ownership of collective results not only undermines an organization’s success, but can also directly contribute to individual underperformance, massive negative stress and, at worst, burn-out.

When your team members feel there is a lack of accountability and ownership of collective results, they will immediately prioritize their own area over the collective. This can result in a lack of collaboration and support for each other. Even worse, it may lead to the perception that “I am alone in this, so I need to constantly fight to get my things through”. Therefore, people start to prioritize their personal achievements over collective success, feeling that they are not much supported by others anyway. Consequently, ego and personal status will become the primary drivers for interactions. In the longer term, it will feel more like a constant battle than productive cooperation – which is ultimately exhausting.

Clearly, such negative dynamics must be avoided. On the positive side, the opportunities created by accountability and collective responsibility – including enhanced teamwork, creativity and performance – should be embraced. As we all know, this won’t happen by accident. Creating a culture of accountability within an organization requires you to take some specific actions:

Key actions for leaders

Build trust

Trust is the most important factor in high-performing teams and organizations. Team members need to feel comfortable and confident to share what they really think, safe in the knowledge that their views are welcomed by the other team members – especially if they are different. This will maximize the opportunity to make great decisions that co-create extraordinary value.

Ensure clarity

Co-create and (over-)communicate expectations regarding individual and team performance. This includes things like the purpose of the team and its contribution to overall results, its specific goals, responsibilities and performance metrics. Clarity will help team members understand what is expected of them and others and is fundamental to holding themselves and others accountable.

Gain commitment

Commitment is the emotional buy-in to the purpose, goals, processes and key behaviors of the team. By engaging and involving team members in co-creating key decisions, by having healthy and productive debates, and by explaining the expectation that achieving commitment is one of the key goals for all team members to achieve, you will set the right psychological tone for everyone to emotionally buy into a collective approach (and deprioritize their own perspective). This is the key for executing decisions effectively, with team members holding each other accountable for their behaviors and collective results.

Delegate and empower

Based on trust, clarity and commitment, you can now delegate tasks and responsibilities to the team members, giving them opportunities to take ownership and demonstrate accountability. By empowering your people to make decisions and show initiative, you will further encourage them to take responsibility for their work and outcomes.

Provide resources and support

Make sure that your people have the necessary resources, tools and support to fulfill their responsibilities effectively. This includes providing training, coaching and mentoring, and access to information and technology. By providing the right support, you will enable them to take ownership and deliver results.

Recognize and reward accountability

Recognize and reward individuals and teams who demonstrate accountability and achieve results that contribute to overall success. Establish constant, ongoing feedback habits in your teams. Help your team members build up the confidence to provide constructive feedback and the emotional maturity to receive and process feedback in a productive way. And then praise them for doing so. Recognizing and rewarding accountability reinforces the importance of taking ownership and encourages others to follow suit.

Lead by example

To establish accountability and ownership of collective results, you must lead by example and constantly hold yourself accountable for your own actions and decisions. Based on integrity and transparency, always take responsibility and ownership of your own behaviors and overall outcomes. Provide ongoing feedback and invite your team members to provide feedback to you. Acknowledge and learn from your mistakes. When you demonstrate accountability, it sets the tone for the entire organization.

By taking these key actions, you can create a culture of accountability within your organization, working collaboratively to achieve outstanding collective results. Your people will feel valued, engaged and empowered to take ownership of their work and overall success – which has been achieved together.

Wishing you only the best,