Holding Your Team Accountable with Compassion, Not Fear

​Struggling with balancing kindness and holding members accountable for business outcomes?

TIP OF THE WEEK

This weeks TIP comes from Liane Davey, a team effectiveness advisor and professional speaker. Author of The Good Fight, You First, and co-author of Leadership Solutions. Catch up with Davey on Twitter at @LianeDavey.

In her article Hold Your Team Accountable with Compassion, Not Fear She articulates how often times the language of fear, not accountability, can sneak out, and how counterintuitive that

language came be to your team. She cautions against this punitive approach to evoking accountability.  The secret according to Davey is to have “clear expectations and then provide frequent, low-impact coaching and feedback to give your team members assistance without ever transferring ownership”.

“have clear expectations and then provide frequent, low-impact coaching and feedback to give your team members assistance without ever transferring ownership”

Those who exhibit compassion and are flexible are more apt to allow their team the sense that they can be simultaneously vulnerable and responsible. It is important to encourage employees to work through a problem solving process – and stop trying to do it for them. “When perfection is the only option, some employees might feel incapable of taking accountability”

 “When perfection is the only option, some employees might feel incapable of taking accountability”

Davey highlights a number of useful techniques in her article to help your team have the sense that they can be equally vulnerable and responsible. She touches on the topics that are often over looked:

-How to Foster Accountability While Demonstrating Compassion

-Set Clear Expectations

-Maintain Attention

-Create Psychological Safety

-Be a Coach, Not a Micromanager

-Use Appropriate Consequences

-When All Else Fails, Allow for a Graceful Exit

Davey leaves the reader with the knowledge that by being a compassionate manager, you allow your team to know that some struggle is allowed, understood, and even embraced without overdoing it. Get to the point with a good blend of accountability and compassion with your team. Stop jumping to your team members’ rescue, making them think you don’t trust them.

A good read. I highly recommend you pass this along to your management team. Hold Your Team Accountable with Compassion, Not Fear