Accountable Leaders. Vince Molinaro
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if you are not accountable yourself. You must lead by example. Why? Because accountability breeds accountability. Let me repeat that: Accountability breeds accountability.
If you set the right tone, most everyone will follow. It’s like a ripple effect that can happen in a still pond. I’m sure you have experienced it. Once you touch the water with your finger or throw a pebble in it, you watch the ripples take form and expand throughout the entire pond. That’s how accountability works in organizations. If you step up, and others see you setting an example of accountability, you create a positive ripple effect that inspires and encourages others to also step up and be accountable.
However, a ripple effect can work the other way as well—mediocrity breeds mediocrity. When mediocrity ripples throughout an organization, then you have a problem. I believe we have too many people in leadership roles who seem to be fine with being just okay—average or mediocre at best. No human endeavor of any significance has ever been achieved with mediocrity. Extraordinary results—whether from an athlete, an artist, a surgeon, a manager, a teacher, or a CEO—are never achieved through mediocrity.
You have a choice. What will it be for you? Accountability or mediocrity? What ripple effect are you creating in your organization?
The Dual Response to Building Strong Leadership Accountability
To me, accountability is the bedrock of truly great leadership. In The Leadership Contract, I suggested that a dual response is required to make it happen in an organization (see Figure I.2). First, as a leader, you must step up and be accountable at a personal level. Second, you must then build accountability across the organization as you work with your direct reports, teams, and peers. Let’s explore these ideas in more detail.
Figure I.2 The Dual Response to Build Strong Leadership Accountability
The Individual Response
At an individual level, you must do your part to step up and lead in a more accountable manner. You need to set the tone by living the four terms of the leadership contract. You can’t go around telling others to step up if you are not doing it yourself. To drive your personal success, you may want to review the ideas and activities in my books: The Leadership Contract (3rd ed.) and The Leadership Contract Field Guide. They include many foundational resources that will help you develop the mindset necessary to become the accountable leader your organization needs you to be. You can also go to the Apple and Google App Stores to download the Accountable Leaders App. Once you download the app, you can gain access to learning resources and courses, and be part of a community of like-minded accountable leaders committed to leading to a higher standard of behavior.
The Organizational Response
Your success will be accelerated and amplified if there is also an effective organizational response in place. By this, I mean you must go beyond yourself and strive to strengthen the leadership accountability across your entire organization. First, you must work hard to hold others accountable, build an accountable team, and help establish a strong community of leaders across your organization.
Second, as a CEO, senior executive, head of human resources, or board director, you must set the tone of strong leadership accountability for the rest of the organization. You must also put practices in place that will make leadership accountability a business priority in your organization. You must define clear leadership expectations, demonstrate resolve, and do the hard work that sustains momentum. You must also support leaders to act as a community and build a strong leadership culture.
In many ways, this book is part of what I call The Leadership Contract trilogy. The Leadership Contract (3rd ed.) presents the core ideas around leadership accountability. The Leadership Contract Field Guide provides 75 activities that you can use to put those ideas into action within your leadership role. This book explores what you must do as a leader to drive strong leadership accountability at an organizational level. The three books are designed to work together and provide an integrated approach for you to implement in your organization.
My Wish for You
Hundreds of organizations around the world have brought the ideas of The Leadership Contract to their leaders. My books and training programs are available in multiple languages. In my travels and discussions with leaders, I’ve seen the positive impact these ideas can have. I’ve seen leaders and teams take their game to a higher level of effectiveness and success. I’ve seen organizations build strong leadership cultures that are inspiring. I have been humbled to see this all happen. I know these ideas can work for you as well.
My sincere hope and wish for you is that you will come away with a clear sense of what you must do to be a truly accountable leader—both at an individual and an organizational level. I encourage you to reach out to me on LinkedIn or visit www.drvincemolinaro.com.
Notes
1 1Brian de Haaff, “Only 30 Percent of People Believe Their Teammates Are Committed to Quality Work—Here Is How to Fix That,” Inc., November 21, 2018, https://www.inc.com /brian-de-haaff/only-30-percent-of-people-believe-their-teammates-are-committed-to-quality-work-here-is-how-to-fix-that .html.
2 2“How Corporate Culture Affects the Bottom Line,” Duke Fuqua School of Business, November 12, 2015, https://www.fuqua.duke .edu/duke-fuqua-insights/corporate-culture.
3 3You can read the entire story of my colleague Zinta in Vince Molinaro, The Leadership Contract (3rd ed.) (John Wiley & Sons, 2018).
4 4Jeffrey Pfeffer, Dying for a Paycheck (Harper Collins, 2018).
5 5Vince Molinaro, The Leadership Contract (3rd ed.) (John Wiley & Sons, 2018).
PART 1 The World in Which You Lead
This section of the book has two chapters that explore the context in which you are leading.
Chapter 1: The New Game Begins Before the Old One Ends
This chapter will help you understand the future context for all leaders. We will examine the impact of several critical drivers, including the role of transformative technologies, geopolitical instability, revolutionizing work, the need to deliver on diversity, and repurposing the role of corporations in society.
Chapter 2: Why Do We Not Have Better Leadership?
This chapter examines why leadership is not as strong as it needs to be. Specifically, it examines how many leaders today are overwhelmed, disengaged, underprepared, and struggling to execute strategy. The chapter also discusses how leadership development programs must do more to help address these challenges.
CHAPTER 1 The New Game Begins Before the Old One Ends
On March 31, 2014, I was meeting a colleague for lunch at a popular restaurant in Toronto.