March 7, 2025 • 12 mins
How can you tell if you're holding your team accountable in a healthy way? In this episode, we explore the multifaceted nature of accountability in leadership, highlighting common pitfalls such as the hierarchical imbalance of accountability and the emotional intelligence required for constructive interactions. Learn how to track your impact and build meaningful accountability systems.
Are you aware of the impact you are having on your team's ability to be accountable?
If you want to ensure you are using accountability for growth, instead of as a punitive measure, you should give this a listen!
You can still support mental health in Canada until March 21: https://www.thepushupchallenge.ca/fundraisers/leahfink/the-push-up-challenge
To have your questions answered on the show, submit your story here: https://allthrive.ca/share-your-story
Leadership Ripples with Leah Fink is live every other week at 12:00pm MST. Please join us to get answers to your leadership questions! https://www.linkedin.com/in/leah-fink-all-thrive/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Every action you take as a leader has a ripple effect
, starting with your team, goingout to the organization and
even out into people's personallives.
Here we offer you the chance tolearn from real-life stories of
leadership so you can gain adeeper understanding and level
up your own skills Fromcommunication to culture, to
power and equity, to feedback,to resolving conflict and more.
(00:23):
Join us and make sure you'recreating the ripples you want.
Welcome to Leadership Rippleswith Leah Fink.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hello and welcome to Leadership Ripples with Leah
Fink.
Today we are going to betalking about accountability,
especially in the workplace, howwe often see it used and how it
should more ideally be used tomake sure that we're not abusing
the way that we useaccountability.
And where this topic came fromis in February I took 18 days
(00:53):
and did a mental health push-upchallenge by the Canadian Mental
Health Association.
So over those 18 days I did2,000 push-ups and raised a lot
of funds for them.
If you are interested, by theway, that is still open until
March 21st if you want tosupport the cause.
But one of the things I alsodid during that challenge was I
put a couple challenges toleaders during that time of
(01:15):
different things that they coulddo to support mental health in
the workplace and I had someonewrite in and ask a question and
I asked if I could share it onthe show because it was such a
good write in and ask a questionand I asked if I could share it
on the show because it was sucha good comment around this
whole concept of accountability.
So JG asked Leah, how do youthink about the difference
between accountability andintegrity?
(01:35):
I find that accountability cansometimes be overused by leaders
as a cudgel instead of a toolto create a healthy culture, as
you suggest.
So, first of all, thank you somuch for asking, jg, and I
appreciate that you allowed meto use this on the show, because
this is such a critical thingfor people to consider, because
accountability is a hugelyimportant thing at work and we
(01:56):
want to make sure we're using itreally well.
Now, of course, that being said, it is a complex issue in the
workplace, so we're going to gothrough some of the different
concepts and reasons that it canbe so challenging and why we
often do misuse it or don't useit ideally, and talk a little
bit about what we can do tocreate some of those healthier
patterns, healthier uses ofaccountability.
(02:19):
The first issue that we havewith accountability is how it's
structured in the workplace, andthat's due to a couple
different factors, but whatoften happens is the amount that
people are held accountableactually increases as you go
down the organizationalhierarchy and decreases the
higher you go up, which is alittle bit the opposite of what
it ideally should be in my mind,and this happens for a couple
(02:42):
reasons.
The structure of leadershipincludes this concept that you
are mentoring and leading andproviding your reports with
feedback so they can beimproving.
There's this inherent part ofthe role that you need to hold
the people on your teamaccountable for the work they're
doing and guide them to do itbetter.
So there's already thisinherent part of accountability
(03:03):
within a leadership role, andthat accountability does not
work the same way in theopposite direction.
It's often up to the leader'sdiscretion how much they talk
about their own accountabilityor ask for feedback and honestly
, in a lot of cases that meansthis might never happen.
And as we talk about on thisshow our brains.
When we're in a position ofless power, like your direct
(03:25):
reports would be to you as aleader, they act from a little
bit more of a fear space fromyour amygdala.
They're a little activated.
So it doesn't feel safe to askabout that accountability, to
bring up that feedback.
Naturally, it's risky andvulnerable to do that.
So of course, a lot of peoplearen't going to do it unless a
very safe environment has beencreated and even with that,
(03:46):
often that they are directlyasked.
In addition to that, even ifyou have created this
environment, your staff team isprobably going to know less
about what you're supposed to beaccountable to in your role
than you know.
And then your manager knowsabout your role.
You know a lot more about theirresponsibilities, of course, so
it's a lot easier to hold themaccountable.
Going that way, they might noteven know where to start if you
(04:09):
want to ask them about yourpersonal accountability of tasks
that you're doing, at least Now, of course, if you have a
manager, they will be holdingyou accountable and up and up
and up and eventually get to thetop of the organization and
there will be no one with ahigher position.
So everything about thishierarchical structure how we
(04:29):
frame it, the inherent pieces ofleadership roles means that
it's way easier to increaseaccountability the further down
we go the hierarchical ladder,and this doesn't necessarily
have to be a bad thing, but itdoes mean there's a lot of
things we want to be aware ofthat are happening in that
dynamic to ensure that all ofthese pieces are healthy.
(04:50):
Now let's step to another idea,and that's this idea of one of
your tasks as a leader is inguiding your staff, telling them
what they need to do so thatyou can hold them accountable,
and one of the biggestchallenges that I see with
leaders holding their teamsaccountable is.
There's often not quite as muchclarity as they think they have
given around theresponsibilities, around what
(05:12):
that person will be accountable,around what tasks they need to
complete, and on top of that,there could even be a difference
in perception or how weunderstand the things that we're
asked to do.
Now, as a leader, you mightalso have additional
understanding about the taskthat you've asked someone to
complete.
You might know the biggerpicture behind it and some of
(05:32):
the reasons it would be betterto do this way, and, of course,
you have your own perception onhow it's best to do these things
.
Your employees don't necessarilyhave that information.
They only have what you givethem, and you may have forgotten
something.
You may have given them a wholebunch of information at once.
It was hard to process, butthey're going to try to do the
best they can with theinformation that they have.
(05:53):
So let's think about it fromtheir perspective.
They've been asked to dosomething that they might not
understand fully.
They know that they need to doit.
They might even be a little bitworried or stressed about
completing it, and thatnervousness could extend to a
hesitancy to ask clarifyingquestions if they have a little
bit of unsurety about whatthey're supposed to be doing and
(06:13):
of course they could be worriedthat there's consequences if
they don't do it well.
So they put in their effort,they do their best, maybe they
even put in overtime or extraeffort to make sure this is done
well, and then they're heldaccountable and in a lot of
situations that could mean thatthey were told they
underperformed, that they didn'tdo a good job or, as JG
(06:35):
mentioned, maybe this was evenused as like a cudgel against
them to beat them down.
And I, unfortunately, haveheard a lot of examples from
staff where they didn't have theclearest outline from their
leader or no one on their teamknew who was supposed to be
accountable to a task, buteveryone got blamed or a project
changed in the middle and thatwasn't communicated and then
(06:56):
they were held accountable to apoor result.
There are a lot of examples Icould use of this and in this
case, in these cases, a lot ofthe staff where they're caring,
they're putting in genuineeffort, those efforts, they're
told that those efforts arefalling short and they're being
treated poorly.
Think of how demoralizing thatis for someone.
And this doesn't have to beobvious or extreme, it doesn't
(07:18):
have to mean that they're beingyelled at or that there's
insults thrown, but can, ofcourse, wear down on people
because they were trying, theydid put in effort and ultimately
you're getting upset at themfor something that was at least
partially your responsibility.
You controlled somecircumstances and information
that were out of their control,and it's critical, as leaders,
(07:38):
that we take more time toreflect on how we are
contributing to situations whereour staff were not as
successful as we hoped.
So when you look at both ofthese big picture concepts of
how we frame accountability inorganizations, you can see how
it could easily be overused forthose that we lead, and we place
responsibility for more than isdue on those people's shoulders
(08:01):
for some of our less thanoptimal actions.
And in addition to thesestructures, we of course, have
our own emotional intelligenceand self-awareness.
When we hold people accountable, are we doing it from a calm
and regulated place?
Are we recognizing our ownimpact on the situation and
asking good questions, focusingon growth, or are we stressed
(08:25):
and worried about how theirperformance will affect us and
our role?
That will be blamed forsomething going wrong?
Maybe we're unaware of our ownimpact on this?
Then we're starting to get tothat point where we're probably
using accountability like acudgel, to that point where
we're probably usingaccountability like a cudgel.
So how do we change this?
How do we get to this point ofintegrity, as JG mentioned, or
(08:47):
if there's other words thatresonate with you for how to do
this better, how to makeaccountability a really positive
force in your organization?
The first thing we want to do isacknowledge how much of an
impact we have on our staff'sperformance.
The clarity we provide, thefeedback that we ask for, the
emotional intelligence and howwe present this.
These all play a huge role inhow well your staff know what
(09:11):
responsibilities they have, howto do that the best, why this
matters and how well, ultimately, they're going to be able to
execute what you have asked themto do.
And, as a leader, there'd bethree steps that I think are
really helpful to emphasize here.
So the first one if you areholding someone on your team
accountable to a poor result,first be curious about where the
(09:34):
gap was between theirunderstanding, their resources
and the result.
So what could the staff haveneeded to know that would have
helped them do better to bettercomplete the task?
Or were there resources otherthan knowledge or in addition to
knowledge that they needed,that could have helped them have
a better result.
Because that's something youcan do as a leader is help
resource them with knowledge andother things that will help
(09:56):
them complete the task better.
Number two ensure that you areconsistently asking your staff
for feedback when things havenot gone to plan, and even that
you're opening space and askingspecifically for clarifying
questions when you are handingout responsibilities, that they
have this chance to interactwith this thing that they're
(10:18):
being tasked with in a healthyway, so they feel really sure on
how they're going to moveforward in a healthy way.
So they feel really sure on howthey're going to move forward,
and that gives them the space,too, to contribute to this idea
of how they are part ofaccountability in the
organization as a whole.
And third, I invite you to lookat accountability in your
organization in general, andespecially if you have the power
(10:38):
to change some of thesestructures to shift your whole
team into some healthier ways ofaccountability.
Please look at that and if youhave questions, if you want to
talk that out, I would love tobe part of that conversation.
Please feel free to reach outand we can chat about it.
And one last thing I want toadd on top of all of this is we
just talked today aboutaccountability as it goes from
(11:00):
leader to report, and we didn'thave time to get into this idea
of peer accountability.
It can be a hugely powerfultool.
It can be so helpful, and manyof these dynamics we just
discussed can make a muchhealthier team, and so if you
are interested in that as atopic, shoot me a message
because I'd be happy to do anepisode on that as well, and so
(11:21):
we can really get a well-roundedsense of how we're holding each
other accountable in ourorganizations.
As a reminder to our listeners,if you have a story or a
question you want to share withthe show, I would love to have
it.
You can find the link for thatin the description below, and we
would love to hear from you.
If you are a regular listenerto the show or you like this
(11:41):
episode.
I, if you are a regularlistener to this show or you
like this episode, I wouldgreatly appreciate it if you
could leave a rating or review.
It really helps the show get outto more people and I would
greatly appreciate it.
Finally, I also want to letpeople know that this show is
going to be switching from aweekly show to airing every two
weeks.
So just note that in yourcalendars and I will be talking
(12:01):
to you again then.
Finally, I want to thank you somuch for listening with me
learning, taking the time toconsider what impact you are
having in these cases, insteadof just handing down
accountability, piling it on theshoulders of your reports.
It really makes a difference tothem and to how we see
accountability in our whole worksociety.
(12:23):
So thank you so much and, as weclose, remember to ask yourself
what kind of ripples are yougoing to create this week?
Speaker 1 (12:31):
We hope you enjoyed the episode.
Make sure to subscribe, commentand connect with Leah at
meetleahca.
Every action you take as a leader has a ripple effect
, starting with your team, goingout to the organization and
even out into people's personallives.
Here we offer you the chance tolearn from real-life stories of
leadership so you can gain adeeper understanding and level
up your own skills Fromcommunication to culture, to
power and equity, to feedback,to resolving conflict and more.
(00:23):
Join us and make sure you'recreating the ripples you want.
Welcome to Leadership Rippleswith Leah Fink.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hello and welcome to Leadership Ripples with Leah
Fink.
Today we are going to betalking about accountability,
especially in the workplace, howwe often see it used and how it
should more ideally be used tomake sure that we're not abusing
the way that we useaccountability.
And where this topic came fromis in February I took 18 days
(00:53):
and did a mental health push-upchallenge by the Canadian Mental
Health Association.
So over those 18 days I did2,000 push-ups and raised a lot
of funds for them.
If you are interested, by theway, that is still open until
March 21st if you want tosupport the cause.
But one of the things I alsodid during that challenge was I
put a couple challenges toleaders during that time of
(01:15):
different things that they coulddo to support mental health in
the workplace and I had someonewrite in and ask a question and
I asked if I could share it onthe show because it was such a
good write in and ask a questionand I asked if I could share it
on the show because it was sucha good comment around this
whole concept of accountability.
So JG asked Leah, how do youthink about the difference
between accountability andintegrity?
(01:35):
I find that accountability cansometimes be overused by leaders
as a cudgel instead of a toolto create a healthy culture, as
you suggest.
So, first of all, thank you somuch for asking, jg, and I
appreciate that you allowed meto use this on the show, because
this is such a critical thingfor people to consider, because
accountability is a hugelyimportant thing at work and we
(01:56):
want to make sure we're using itreally well.
Now, of course, that being said, it is a complex issue in the
workplace, so we're going to gothrough some of the different
concepts and reasons that it canbe so challenging and why we
often do misuse it or don't useit ideally, and talk a little
bit about what we can do tocreate some of those healthier
patterns, healthier uses ofaccountability.
(02:19):
The first issue that we havewith accountability is how it's
structured in the workplace, andthat's due to a couple
different factors, but whatoften happens is the amount that
people are held accountableactually increases as you go
down the organizationalhierarchy and decreases the
higher you go up, which is alittle bit the opposite of what
it ideally should be in my mind,and this happens for a couple
(02:42):
reasons.
The structure of leadershipincludes this concept that you
are mentoring and leading andproviding your reports with
feedback so they can beimproving.
There's this inherent part ofthe role that you need to hold
the people on your teamaccountable for the work they're
doing and guide them to do itbetter.
So there's already thisinherent part of accountability
(03:03):
within a leadership role, andthat accountability does not
work the same way in theopposite direction.
It's often up to the leader'sdiscretion how much they talk
about their own accountabilityor ask for feedback and honestly
, in a lot of cases that meansthis might never happen.
And as we talk about on thisshow our brains.
When we're in a position ofless power, like your direct
(03:25):
reports would be to you as aleader, they act from a little
bit more of a fear space fromyour amygdala.
They're a little activated.
So it doesn't feel safe to askabout that accountability, to
bring up that feedback.
Naturally, it's risky andvulnerable to do that.
So of course, a lot of peoplearen't going to do it unless a
very safe environment has beencreated and even with that,
(03:46):
often that they are directlyasked.
In addition to that, even ifyou have created this
environment, your staff team isprobably going to know less
about what you're supposed to beaccountable to in your role
than you know.
And then your manager knowsabout your role.
You know a lot more about theirresponsibilities, of course, so
it's a lot easier to hold themaccountable.
Going that way, they might noteven know where to start if you
(04:09):
want to ask them about yourpersonal accountability of tasks
that you're doing, at least Now, of course, if you have a
manager, they will be holdingyou accountable and up and up
and up and eventually get to thetop of the organization and
there will be no one with ahigher position.
So everything about thishierarchical structure how we
(04:29):
frame it, the inherent pieces ofleadership roles means that
it's way easier to increaseaccountability the further down
we go the hierarchical ladder,and this doesn't necessarily
have to be a bad thing, but itdoes mean there's a lot of
things we want to be aware ofthat are happening in that
dynamic to ensure that all ofthese pieces are healthy.
(04:50):
Now let's step to another idea,and that's this idea of one of
your tasks as a leader is inguiding your staff, telling them
what they need to do so thatyou can hold them accountable,
and one of the biggestchallenges that I see with
leaders holding their teamsaccountable is.
There's often not quite as muchclarity as they think they have
given around theresponsibilities, around what
(05:12):
that person will be accountable,around what tasks they need to
complete, and on top of that,there could even be a difference
in perception or how weunderstand the things that we're
asked to do.
Now, as a leader, you mightalso have additional
understanding about the taskthat you've asked someone to
complete.
You might know the biggerpicture behind it and some of
(05:32):
the reasons it would be betterto do this way, and, of course,
you have your own perception onhow it's best to do these things
.
Your employees don't necessarilyhave that information.
They only have what you givethem, and you may have forgotten
something.
You may have given them a wholebunch of information at once.
It was hard to process, butthey're going to try to do the
best they can with theinformation that they have.
(05:53):
So let's think about it fromtheir perspective.
They've been asked to dosomething that they might not
understand fully.
They know that they need to doit.
They might even be a little bitworried or stressed about
completing it, and thatnervousness could extend to a
hesitancy to ask clarifyingquestions if they have a little
bit of unsurety about whatthey're supposed to be doing and
(06:13):
of course they could be worriedthat there's consequences if
they don't do it well.
So they put in their effort,they do their best, maybe they
even put in overtime or extraeffort to make sure this is done
well, and then they're heldaccountable and in a lot of
situations that could mean thatthey were told they
underperformed, that they didn'tdo a good job or, as JG
(06:35):
mentioned, maybe this was evenused as like a cudgel against
them to beat them down.
And I, unfortunately, haveheard a lot of examples from
staff where they didn't have theclearest outline from their
leader or no one on their teamknew who was supposed to be
accountable to a task, buteveryone got blamed or a project
changed in the middle and thatwasn't communicated and then
(06:56):
they were held accountable to apoor result.
There are a lot of examples Icould use of this and in this
case, in these cases, a lot ofthe staff where they're caring,
they're putting in genuineeffort, those efforts, they're
told that those efforts arefalling short and they're being
treated poorly.
Think of how demoralizing thatis for someone.
And this doesn't have to beobvious or extreme, it doesn't
(07:18):
have to mean that they're beingyelled at or that there's
insults thrown, but can, ofcourse, wear down on people
because they were trying, theydid put in effort and ultimately
you're getting upset at themfor something that was at least
partially your responsibility.
You controlled somecircumstances and information
that were out of their control,and it's critical, as leaders,
(07:38):
that we take more time toreflect on how we are
contributing to situations whereour staff were not as
successful as we hoped.
So when you look at both ofthese big picture concepts of
how we frame accountability inorganizations, you can see how
it could easily be overused forthose that we lead, and we place
responsibility for more than isdue on those people's shoulders
(08:01):
for some of our less thanoptimal actions.
And in addition to thesestructures, we of course, have
our own emotional intelligenceand self-awareness.
When we hold people accountable, are we doing it from a calm
and regulated place?
Are we recognizing our ownimpact on the situation and
asking good questions, focusingon growth, or are we stressed
(08:25):
and worried about how theirperformance will affect us and
our role?
That will be blamed forsomething going wrong?
Maybe we're unaware of our ownimpact on this?
Then we're starting to get tothat point where we're probably
using accountability like acudgel, to that point where
we're probably usingaccountability like a cudgel.
So how do we change this?
How do we get to this point ofintegrity, as JG mentioned, or
(08:47):
if there's other words thatresonate with you for how to do
this better, how to makeaccountability a really positive
force in your organization?
The first thing we want to do isacknowledge how much of an
impact we have on our staff'sperformance.
The clarity we provide, thefeedback that we ask for, the
emotional intelligence and howwe present this.
These all play a huge role inhow well your staff know what
(09:11):
responsibilities they have, howto do that the best, why this
matters and how well, ultimately, they're going to be able to
execute what you have asked themto do.
And, as a leader, there'd bethree steps that I think are
really helpful to emphasize here.
So the first one if you areholding someone on your team
accountable to a poor result,first be curious about where the
(09:34):
gap was between theirunderstanding, their resources
and the result.
So what could the staff haveneeded to know that would have
helped them do better to bettercomplete the task?
Or were there resources otherthan knowledge or in addition to
knowledge that they needed,that could have helped them have
a better result.
Because that's something youcan do as a leader is help
resource them with knowledge andother things that will help
(09:56):
them complete the task better.
Number two ensure that you areconsistently asking your staff
for feedback when things havenot gone to plan, and even that
you're opening space and askingspecifically for clarifying
questions when you are handingout responsibilities, that they
have this chance to interactwith this thing that they're
(10:18):
being tasked with in a healthyway, so they feel really sure on
how they're going to moveforward in a healthy way.
So they feel really sure on howthey're going to move forward,
and that gives them the space,too, to contribute to this idea
of how they are part ofaccountability in the
organization as a whole.
And third, I invite you to lookat accountability in your
organization in general, andespecially if you have the power
(10:38):
to change some of thesestructures to shift your whole
team into some healthier ways ofaccountability.
Please look at that and if youhave questions, if you want to
talk that out, I would love tobe part of that conversation.
Please feel free to reach outand we can chat about it.
And one last thing I want toadd on top of all of this is we
just talked today aboutaccountability as it goes from
(11:00):
leader to report, and we didn'thave time to get into this idea
of peer accountability.
It can be a hugely powerfultool.
It can be so helpful, and manyof these dynamics we just
discussed can make a muchhealthier team, and so if you
are interested in that as atopic, shoot me a message
because I'd be happy to do anepisode on that as well, and so
(11:21):
we can really get a well-roundedsense of how we're holding each
other accountable in ourorganizations.
As a reminder to our listeners,if you have a story or a
question you want to share withthe show, I would love to have
it.
You can find the link for thatin the description below, and we
would love to hear from you.
If you are a regular listenerto the show or you like this
(11:41):
episode.
I, if you are a regularlistener to this show or you
like this episode, I wouldgreatly appreciate it if you
could leave a rating or review.
It really helps the show get outto more people and I would
greatly appreciate it.
Finally, I also want to letpeople know that this show is
going to be switching from aweekly show to airing every two
weeks.
So just note that in yourcalendars and I will be talking
(12:01):
to you again then.
Finally, I want to thank you somuch for listening with me
learning, taking the time toconsider what impact you are
having in these cases, insteadof just handing down
accountability, piling it on theshoulders of your reports.
It really makes a difference tothem and to how we see
accountability in our whole worksociety.
(12:23):
So thank you so much and, as weclose, remember to ask yourself
what kind of ripples are yougoing to create this week?
Speaker 1 (12:31):
We hope you enjoyed the episode.
Make sure to subscribe, commentand connect with Leah at
meetleahca.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.