Already back in 2019 workplace studies revealed a crisis of accountability. In my experience with small and medium sized businesses today, I would dare to say very little has changed.

One study spanned multiple years and relied on 40,000 participants across a variety of industries and showed that confusion is widespread when it comes to company direction.

Here’s what we know about company accountability:

• Feedback is usually reserved for when things go wrong.
• Most employees (70-85% even) have only a vague idea of where their company is headed.
• At least 1/3 feel like top-down priorities are ever changing.
• Managers either try to hold staff accountable and fail, OR stop trying altogether.

The Root of the Issue

While multiple factors can be taken into consideration, I have found that lack of owner clarity on their own future role trickles down into their Organizational Chart, and impacts key leadership roles within the organization.

Positive Outcomes

The repercussions of top down fogginess are more than meets the eye. When owners plan for the future and set clear expectations for both company and personal growth, these are the positive outcomes:

1. Leaders are prepared in order to take over main roles
2. Key managers are trained in turn to look for and train future managers
3. Responsibilities are clearly distinguished from the person who is currently responsible (important since early on the weight of multiple responsibilities is often carried by a few)
4. And what is IMPORTANT trumps what is URGENT, since there is a clear path for growth

Define Success

Only once a clear company definition of success has been established and agreed upon by everyone, can the next crucial step be put into place, which is breaking success down into it’s smallest understandable components. This is where the magic happens, but this is also where most companies fail tragically to define what measures success, because, bluntly said – it takes hard work.

The Simple Roadmap to Company Accountability

Instead of asking employees if they’re achieving company goals, first define exactly – yes, I mean EXACTLY – what leads to success!

Example: Don’t ask how many sales they made (the goal or lag measure), rather, define HOW sales are landed per timeline:

• 10 daily calls at X time
• Using Y script
• From Z list

Accountability just got 100% easier, because now you’re tracking actual performance: WHEN, HOW, & QUANTITY (the action required to achieve the goal or lead measure), not just the results.

Bottom Line

Employees are surprisingly willing to work, even do extremely hard things, when the dots are clearly connected between long-term company accountability goals and the actions they are required to carry out on a regular basis. This is especially true if their own growth is included in the vision of company success, and company accountability genuinely helps them to do those actions well.

If accountability helps them win, they won’t fight it. They’ll embrace it.