By Tom Baker
Let’s be clear. Holding people accountable is a myth. You cannot change the behavior of anyone other than yourself. The attempt to force change in others frustrates everyone. To understand accountability, let’s first consider what it is not.
- Accountability is not a way to stop undesired behavior.
- Accountability is not “gotcha” moments when staff do something wrong or fail to live up to expectations.
- Accountability will not get the wrong people to do the right things.
Accountability is more than compliance based on carrots and sticks. Its results go far beyond hitting goals and metrics. Let’s consider a more appropriate definition.
Accountability is the empowerment of the people you depend on to operate and grow
your agency to align their behavior with how you do business to become
better versions of themselves by evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.
To understand this definition of accountability, we need to know how to play an “infinite” rather than a “finite” game.” Simon Sinek draws on ideas James Carse discussed in his 1986 book “Finite and Infinite Games.” According to Carse, “Finite games are defined as known players, fixed rules, and an agreed-upon objective. An infinite game is defined as known and unknown players, the rules are changeable, and the objective is not to win—the objective is to keep playing, keep perpetuating the game.”
Sinek explains, “When you pit a finite player against a finite player, the system is stable. When you pit an infinite player versus an infinite player, the system is also stable. Problems arise when you pit a finite player against an infinite player. The finite player is playing to win, and an infinite player is playing to keep playing. As a result, they will make very different strategic choices.”
Accountability is not about winning. Accountability trains and leads staff to stay in the game. Playing an infinite game does not mean throwing out goals and procedures. While every organization needs established ways of doing business, the infinite game is the context and reason for processes and goals—the two work in tandem to create a culture of responsibility.
Here are five questions that empower your team to develop the character and professionalism needed to grow your agency. My recommendation is to schedule weekly fifteen-minute coaching sessions with each individual. Use a timer to ensure the meeting does not and cannot last longer than 15 minutes. The discipline is on you to respect the team member’s time and demonstrate your ability to be responsible for your word.
Ask the same five questions each week. Your goal is to facilitate the discussion rather than control it. The psychology of this approach is to model discipline, awareness, curiosity, and vision as staff prepares for their meetings. Because each team member provides the content for the meeting, they understand they own the results, creating a sense of psychological ownership.
QUESTION #1: What is one thing you want to learn this week or question you want to solve?
Beau Lotto is a neuroscientist with an exciting approach to his lectures. He believes nothing interesting happens by knowing. In his lectures, his objective is that attendees know less at the end of the lecture than they thought they knew at the beginning. Curiosity is a disciplined habit; and a necessary skill to develop to become a better version of ourselves.
Most of us find it much easier to identify with the negative in life. Begin the session by focusing on what the team member is curious about, not what they want to complain about. When they say, “Like what?” your response can be, “If you had a question, is it more likely to be something to learn or a question to be answered?” Using questions to lead teaches others to think for themselves.
If you are not able able to provide an answer or solution, set a realistic follow-up date.
QUESTION #2: What is an example of a success you had this last week?
Challenge team members to identify their successes. The goal is for team members to be self-motivated to become better versions of themselves.
If they have difficulty identifying an example of their success, prompt the discussion, “I understand it can be challenging looking at your week in this way. What is something you feel good about that happened this week?” It may take a few moments for the idea to come to mind. This is your time to be disciplined and wait. I guarantee they will not take longer than 60 seconds to break the silence. The results are well worth the wait.
QUESTION #3: What is an example of a failure?
The fear of failure is far more debilitating than failure itself. Success is so personal that failure can define one’s character and value. The result? We strive for success not to be great but to avoid being bad. Until your team is comfortable with the inevitability of their failure and they trust your leadership to lead them beyond failure – your team will fall short of their potential.
An idea to spark the conversation might be, “What is something you planned to accomplish this week but didn’t?” Another great question is, “What is something you feel bad about because you intended to do it but didn’t?” If they trust you with an honest answer, that is the perfect learning moment to explain to them what Winston Churchill said about failure –
“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”
A positive acceptance of failure promotes learning and creativity. It also reduces stress.
My favorite author speaker is Benjamin Zander, the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. His recommendation for times of failure is to enthusiastically throw your hands in the air while declaring, “How fascinating!” It’s remarkable what a posture of looking up at possibilities rather than down at disappointment will do in life.
QUESTION #4: What goal do you guarantee to accomplish this week?
Psychological ownership is essential for this question to be compelling. It’s what is at the top of their list, not yours, that matters. Guaranteeing results in advance can be challenging because we are conditioned to believe we have little control over what life throws at us during the week, so how can we guarantee a result?
If you are using KPIs, ask, “Is there a specific KPI that you are willing to set a goal and believe they can accomplish this week?” You might also ask, “What is one thing you can accomplish this week you would feel genuinely excited to share next week?”
The goal is not as important as the belief. You are coaching your team to exercise power over their lives.
QUESTION #5: What do you need from me to achieve your goals?
The last question challenges the team member to entrust you with their needs. Here are two distinct purposes.
First, they learn they are responsible for coming to you when help is needed. They are in charge of their life and career. You are a facilitator of their success, not its author and finisher. Second, the question leads to an introspection where they learn how to identify solutions, knowledge, skills, and disciplines to become a better version of themselves.
CONCLUSION
Accountability is not an expectation to live up to but a possibility to live into. Measurement is not to manage behavior but to lead personal and professional growth. Measurement is for the benefit of your team members so they can understand what they can celebrate and challenge.
After a few weeks, something miraculous will happen. Team members will choose one of two paths.
Some will choose to value and prepare for their weekly coaching sessions. The skills and discipline they bring to the session will begin to show up in their daily activities.
The second group will quit. It’s no fun being unprepared to answer the same questions week after week.
The results engage the right people to be in the right place on your bus while providing others a way to get off at the next stop.
Tom Baker is the LEADER of Comp21 and the developer of SYMPHONY, software that manages compensation in accordance with results desired.
Tom’s specialty is strategically identifying strengths and weaknesses in staffing, agency culture, compensation, and workflow to create simple, practical plans for personal and professional growth. During his 20 years as a marriage and family counselor and leadership coach, he discovered getting people to do the “right ” thing is neither productive nor practical. Tom brought his counseling model, “Manage processes. Lead people.” to the insurance industry in 2003. Since then, Tom has worked with both independent and captive agencies. He was the Senior Editor of The View, a monthly newsletter with a total readership of over 8,000 insurance professionals, and a monthly contributor for Agent and Broker magazine from 2006 to 2008. Tom is also the founder of Comp21, introducing the first talent management system for the insurance industry.