Situational Leadership’s Big Mistake (Don’t make it)

Those of you who follow situational leadership will no doubt know one of the biggest and most often made mistakes is to consider someones commitment and directional level in one situation to be the same across all situations.  I made this mistake recently.  And I made it with myself.  My commitment to managing my time and my skill set managing my time are both exceptional.  I require little direction and I have a great enthusiasm. 

However, I don’t have the same level of skill or commitment to managing others’ time.

I discovered I wasn’t committed, I wasn’t enthusiastic, and I didn’t have the skill set I thought I did.  I had made the mistake of assuming I was great at managing others’ time since I was an excellent manager of my time.  I was wrong.  I immediately began seeking insight into my opportunity.  And a side product of being a learner (has anyone discovered that strength?), my side product was my increased excitement as I learned more. 

The lesson is to remember it’s “situational” leadership and “in every instance” leadership. (ha ha)

Filed under: Blogroll, Employee Accountability, Feedback, Management Lesson, Management Training, News, Situational Leadership, training

Holding Employees Accountable

One of the biggest mistakes managers can make is to continuously frustrate their employees by not holding them accountable.  Believe it or not, it can frustrate your employees as much as it does you.  Accountability is the key to achieving results and helping identify the opportunities in your organization.  Holding employees accountable helps them to know the satisfaction of achieving a goal and performing to standard (or above!)

If you find yourself addressing the same issues in the same manner time and time again, you might have an issue with accountability.  The same is true if you don’t see your employees and your organization moving forward.  The first step is to identify in which areas you find yourself and your team stagnant.  Everyone will easily choose at least one area in which they would like to see improvement.  To master accountability, choose this one area and focus on it first.  Once you see the results, you’ll be inspired to approach all performance issues with a keen focus on accountability.

The Hallmarks of Accountability

• Understood Goals – the employee must understand what the team is trying to achieve
• Buy in – employees must believe in the goal and be a part of the success
• Benchmarks and a Quantifiable Result – employees need milestones and a result that can be measured
• Dual Feedback – feedback from the supervisor to the employee and from the employee to the supervisor
• Evaluation – once a goal is accomplished, celebrate the success

To be successful, the manager must also hold themselves accountable to following through with accountability.  One of the biggest failures is to start the process and not follow through with it.  This causes the employee to lose respect for the process and to question a supervisor’s commitment, which can undermine the entire organization.  Once accountability becomes a part of your management style and organization, you will see improved results and more satisfied employees.

Filed under: Business, Employee Accountability, Feedback, Follow-Up, Management Lesson, Management Training, News, Setting Goals