Forging Ownership and Accountability: Four Magic Words

Have you ever wondered what the ‘secret sauce’ is to high performing teams? 

Like many leaders, I’ve pondered that very question many, many times.  Operating in and having had the honor of leading high performing teams, I’ve found a few select ingredients to be vital.  Such as trust and strong professional relationships.  Such as deeply held shared values and a clear and unifying purpose.  From what I’ve experienced, these are essential cornerstones of excellence in teams.

However, even the strongest of cornerstones can be eroded by ‘change’.  And, as we all know, the only constant IS change.  So, what is a team leader seeking long term high performance to do?

Try this. Experience has taught me that ownership and accountability can be outstanding countermeasures to the challenges of change.   Ownership embodies initiative and determination to overcome any obstacle.  Accountability brings commitment to team and teammates, and that ‘I’ve got this, you can rely on me’ mentality.  In my journey, taken together these are powerful catalysts supporting consistent high performance in the face of ‘change’.

This has been a leadership lesson learned for which I owe a huge debt of thanks.  As a newly minted team leader in the early years of my career, I learned first-hand the power of ownership and accountability.  My executive leader - let’s call him Mike - was extremely wise, experienced, and knowledgeable, a true ‘engineer’s engineer’.  He placed a strong emphasis on not only performance but also equally the long-term reliability of our designs.  He was data driven, deeply experienced and excelled in asking detailed and challenging questions during our many design reviews.

Our team had deeply studied the designs of not only domestic competitors but also global competitors whose designs sometimes differed from common accepted practices in our North American market.  Our challenge, as an engineering team, was to find the best practice for our designs.  In our design reviews, Mike drilled deeply into our designs, asking difficult but appropriate questions, seemingly one after another, non-stop.  It was extremely rigorous.  Our design challenged some of the conventional wisdom of designs in the North American market and was counter to his experience.  As an executive leader, Mike had to make a choice – direct us to change the design to be more conventional or trust and empower our design direction given the rigorous engineering reviews he conducted.

In retrospect, it would have been easy for Mike to micromanage and support the more commonly accepted design practice at that time, but he saw opportunity in our design to set a new, better standard and supported our approach.  After explaining to our team how he reached his decision, his words still ring true to me to this day, decades later. 

Those are the four magic words: ‘I’m counting on you”. 

In only one short phrase he empowered us.  And in doing so, ownership and accountability immediately followed.  We knew our leader challenged us deeply and ultimately believed in and supported us.  If you have ever experienced the restrictions of a micromanager, you know firsthand the feeling of freedom when it is truly your call, and you are being trusted to deliver success.

It has been said that the difference between managers and leaders is that managers make sure things are done right, while leaders make sure the right things are done.  Mike was a true leader, and his decision was a prime example to us all.  Mike trusted us.  It was both the ultimate compliment and ultimate incentive at the same time.  Now, it was up to us to make it happen.

It wasn’t easy.  Long hours, lots of learning and continuous improvement along the way.  But knowing we owned it and were accountable for its success, we pushed ourselves willingly.  Discretionary time now was also devoted to the cause.  We went way past ‘above and beyond’.  We were on a mission.

Imagine unleashing that same energy, enthusiasm and determination on any problem or objective your team faces.  It is magical to be part of, and thanks to Mike, a leadership lesson forever learned.

So, now it’s your turn.  I’m counting on you.

Authored by: Jeff Boyer, Managing Director

It’s The Little Things That Count

In a season that encourages us to pause, reflect, and treasure the blessings of others in our lives, make a special point this year to extend that consideration to your professional relationships as well.  Through our interactions with others, we learn, grow, and excel in ways that we could never accomplish alone.  Yet do we fully appreciate those relationships?  Do we purposefully spend the necessary time and energy to nurture those relationships and give back?

Author Stephen Covey once observed “in relationships, the little things are the big things”.  Reflect on your experiences.  Don’t we know this to be true?  Yet often we don’t make the ‘little things’ a priority.  Sometimes we recognize the shortfall and attempt to make a grand gesture instead, to make up for the deficit.  However well intended, we soon realize we have completely missed the mark. 

In my journey, I’ve been most impressed with the leaders that recognized and committed to doing those little things exceptionally well.  Here are a few best practices I’ve gleaned from them over the years:

• Time is precious.  It is the only commodity in our lives we can’t create more of.  How we spend it is a direct reflection of who we are and what we stand for.  It is also recognized as a true gift by others.  To spend a few moments with others, shows you sincerely care and value your relationship with them.  In those moments, focus on being truly present, with no distractions from phones, clocks, and other distractions.

• Recognize efforts and reward results.  Both are important.  To recognize and respect diligence, commitment and sacrifice toward important objectives encourages us.  Doing so in front of the team is powerful recognition of an individual’s contributions and motivates all. 

A colleague of mine, widely recognized for her outstanding leadership, handed out gold star pins to recognize excellence.  A simple gesture that rekindles the feeling from our early elementary school days in a lighthearted but meaningful way.  ‘Corny’ you might think?  But I saw firsthand the pride in her team members in receiving these.  It wasn’t the value of the award; it was the recognition that mattered.

• Impromptu check-Ins with your team members.  Be aware of and ask about key interests in team members’ lives from previous conversations.  Showing sincere interest in the things that matter most to us is powerful.  It may be as simple as inquiring about a hobby or passion we enjoy in our lives.  US President Theodore Roosevelt once remarked “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”  Experience has shown me that truer words have never been spoken.

• Ask others, ‘what do you think’?  This simple phrase provides us important perspectives and details we may have lacked when facing decisions.  It also conveys a sense of trust and respect in their knowledge or viewpoint.  As a rather junior leader, I experienced the power of this firsthand.  I’m not sure how helpful my input was, but just being asked had a lasting and powerful impact on the kind of leader I wanted to become.

• Listen, period.  Too many times, we find ourselves listening to respond, not “seeking first to understand, then be understood”.  Intently listening, fully engaged and absent of distraction is too often in very short supply.  Looking at people when they speak, with appropriate eye contact and positive body language, conveys respect, appreciation, and sincere interest.  It shows we care and appreciate the person with whom we are interacting.  There is no greater compliment per unit time than being truly listened to.

• Say ‘thank you’ often and in meaningful ways.  While technology facilitates many ways to do this, such as emails and texts, I’ve found the time-honored practice of handwritten notes to be the best.  Yes, it takes more time.  But the recipients understand that the giving of one’s time is a gift as well, which adds to the depth of the recognition.  And, if you are like many of us, those handwritten notes are still with us many years later, serving as a proud remembrance.

None of these best practices is complex or difficult.  But, if you have personally experienced these from a leader in your professional journey, you immediately recognize the impact and profound effect they have.  It truly is all about the ‘little things!’

Authored by: Jeff Boyer, Managing Director