Accountability Styles – Quick Overview
Everyone has an approach that they default to when they need to hold their employees accountable. Sometimes this approach works. And sometimes it doesn’t.
The problem is that when it doesn’t work, people tend to double-down instead of trying something new.
The purpose of the Accountability Styles Assessment is to help you identify your default approach. Once you know what you typically do (or don’t do) to hold employees accountable, you can learn new approaches that may work better for different employees or different situations.
ASSUME (HOPE + AVOID)Leaders in this style rely on the hopeful assumption that their employee will figure it out and meet the expectation. They don’t want to put themselves or their employees on the spot by with direct expectations or feedback. They mistake “being nice” or “seeing the best in others” as a management strategy. |
BAIT + WAIT (HOPE + AVOID)Leaders in this style communicate their expectations upfront and then wait to see what happens. Their management strategy is to give the employee time and space to figure out what they are supposed to do. |
DELAY (STRESS + AVOID)Leaders in this style procrastinate about providing feedback. They feel anxious and stressed about confronting their employees when issues arise. |
HANDS OFF (STRESS + AVOID)Leaders in this style feel that taking more time to manage their team would cause more stress so they limit their engagement. They assume this approach is fine as long as issues don’t rise to a level where they MUST be addressed. |
HINT (HOPE + ASSERT)Leaders in this style hope that hinting will be enough for the employee to know what they are supposed to do. Hints sound like, “Gee, it would be great if you could…” This style tends to be common in “flat hierarchy” relationships in which roles, responsibilities, and power dynamics are equal or unclear. |
CONFIRM (HOPE + ASSERT)Leaders in this style ask closed-ended questions to check on progress, such as “You’ll have that done, right?” They are looking for a quick and compliant “yes” from the employee. |
TELL OR YELL (STRESS + ASSERT)Leaders in this style are not conflict-avoidant. They are clear and direct with their feedback, but can come across as impatient, frustrated, angry, or rude. As a result, employees reduce critical thinking and become more dependent. |
MICRO-MANAGE (STRESS + ASSERT)A more stressed and engaged version of the Tell (or Yell) style, leaders in this style don’t trust the employee to meet the expectation. Micro-Managers check in “too often” to make sure employees are on track, but rarely become more satisfied or trusting with this approach. |
Now how do you adjust your approach to get better results?
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We started with a day and a half training, and I was so impressed with how effortlessly Elaina kept attendees listening, interacting and engaged. Upon hearing the take-always shared, it was clear that employees were excited and empowered to take action. She has a way of breaking it down to a human level, and making the material relatable for all participants.
The level of care and understanding, from our prep meetings, calls, and from her final presentations, was amazing. She really took the time to get to know us as an organization, and then later during our onsite sessions, as individuals. Our team left with new tools and resources to tackle some of the roadblocks they are currently facing, and I am excited to continue the training and learning with Elaina as a key partner.”
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Elaina was the perfect partner in this endeavor. In addition to spot-on content, her presentation was very engaging, entertaining, and full of energy.
Perhaps more importantly was the time Elaina spent with us before her presentation. She spent the time to understand our overall goals, learn our values, understand our current leadership language, and learn more about the needs of our managers instead of just asking what we wanted out of the presentation.
As a result Elaina’s message was framed within our internal language, which made it even more powerful. In the end, it was clear that Elaina was willing to go the extra mile to ensure she delivered a thoughtful, focused message that resonated well with our entire management team.”
“We love working with Elaina! She led a successful full-day strategy session with an ambitious agenda. She effectively led us through times when we got stuck with new approaches to get the results we wanted from the day.
She made sure everyone was heard, shared helpful ideas, and made sure we left with exactly what we needed to take action.
Her preparation, professionalism and camaraderie with team members of all levels make Elaina a valued asset we trust and rely on.
Our team is looking forward to working with her on some big initiatives in 2018 that will drive our employees’ engagement, development and success.”
“Elaina was such a pleasure to work with. Her ideas, insight, and attitude were exactly what we were looking for when we began our search for a leadership training program. Although we only brought in line managers and new and emerging managers from our organization into the training sessions, I believe that Elaina’s program is great learning material for managers and individual contributors at any level. Her discussions on work style and accountability stretch beyond that of a manger and their direct reports.
We started with a day and a half training, and I was so impressed with how effortlessly Elaina kept attendees listening, interacting and engaged. Upon hearing the take-always shared, it was clear that employees were excited and empowered to take action. She has a way of breaking it down to a human level, and making the material relatable for all participants.
The level of care and understanding, from our prep meetings, calls, and from her final presentations, was amazing. She really took the time to get to know us as an organization, and then later during our onsite sessions, as individuals. Our team left with new tools and resources to tackle some of the roadblocks they are currently facing, and I am excited to continue the training and learning with Elaina as a key partner.”
“We worked with Elaina on a presentation regarding employee engagement that was built around her Inspiring Accountability program.
Elaina was the perfect partner in this endeavor. In addition to spot-on content, her presentation was very engaging, entertaining, and full of energy.
Perhaps more importantly was the time Elaina spent with us before her presentation. She spent the time to understand our overall goals, learn our values, understand our current leadership language, and learn more about the needs of our managers instead of just asking what we wanted out of the presentation.
As a result Elaina’s message was framed within our internal language, which made it even more powerful. In the end, it was clear that Elaina was willing to go the extra mile to ensure she delivered a thoughtful, focused message that resonated well with our entire management team.”
“We love working with Elaina! She led a successful full-day strategy session with an ambitious agenda. She effectively led us through times when we got stuck with new approaches to get the results we wanted from the day.
She made sure everyone was heard, shared helpful ideas, and made sure we left with exactly what we needed to take action.
Her preparation, professionalism and camaraderie with team members of all levels make Elaina a valued asset we trust and rely on.
Our team is looking forward to working with her on some big initiatives in 2018 that will drive our employees’ engagement, development and success.”
“Elaina’s ability to bring clarity to challenging issues is impressive. She asks the right questions that open the door to new ideas and possibilities. She balances professionalism with a warm demeanor that makes it easy to trust her. Her insight is consistently spot on, and she is a talented coach that will surely have you and your employees feeling more empowered, engaged and fulfilled.”
“Elaina’s ability to bring clarity to challenging issues is impressive. She asks the right questions that open the door to new ideas and possibilities. She balances professionalism with a warm demeanor that makes it easy to trust her. Her insight is consistently spot on, and she is a talented coach that will surely have you and your employees feeling more empowered, engaged and fulfilled.”
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