Archives for March 2017

As I leader, I have to admit that I hate being accountable.  It is not that I want to rob banks or run red lights.  It is more that I love freedom and having lots of choices.  There is nothing wrong with freedom, it’s great.    But if that freedom has no accountability to it, you run the risk of losing focus and clarity on what your leadership mission is.

To be accountable is to answer to someone you trust and respect.  All leaders need someone to advise, counsel, direct and guide us.  When we are accountable, we open up about our challenges, questions, and decisions.  Those we answer to have their own tasking; to provide grace and truth to us, in the same way that we should do with others. As a leader, you have no idea of the potholes you will miss, and the opportunities you will reap if you are accountable.

When I am consulting with a management team, no one argues that point. Nobody has ever said to me, “I don’t need to be accountable to anyone.”  That is, except when my kids were teenagers.  Most of us just know that accountability is a good thing.  The problem comes when we either pick the wrong people to be accountable to, or when we don’t truly answer to those people

Here is the issue of the wrong people:  we become accountable to our spouse, God, and our friends.  That sounds great, but it is not enough.  You can slide by your spouse and justify your decisions.  God will let you slide and make your own choices.  And your friends will rubber stamp you.  You don’t have enough of the right people on the right bus.  I recommend you get 3-10 people of character and maturity, to whom you say, “Here is my life and leadership.  Here are my numbers, here are my challenges.  I give you full permission to ask me the hard questions.”  Now you’ll get somewhere.

Here is the issue of not truly being accountable:  you get the benefit when you listen, follow up, and report back the outcomes.  Don’t go into the “my mind is made up, please don’t give me the facts” trap.  Deeply listen in a vulnerable way to what your people tell you. Go beyond listening to acting on what you hear.  Take steps.  And finally, report back to those to whom you are accountable.  Maybe you did 10% of what they recommended.  Maybe you did 100%.  But if you do this, you will reap great fruit and see measurable change.

I still don’t like accountability.  But I do it.  And it pays off for my own life and leadership.  It will for you too.  God Bless you.

Do you have any stories about the benefits of accountability? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

What is a coach? While there are many definitions, it is essentially a person trained to help people improve their lives in specific ways. A coach knows how to help you improve your business, become a better leader, or meet personal goals. In its purest form, coaching is a means of receiving truth to help you grow wiser, or more skilled in living.

I personally have received coaching for a long time, and have benefited greatly, both professionally and personally. I can’t imagine not having some sort of structured relationship which intentionally focuses on my growth and success. Below are some of the major aspects of coaching that benefit leaders:

Advocacy | A coach is for you. His role is to help you get where you want to go. He functions as an advocate – someone who is on your side. Leaders often find themselves surrounded by people who are seeking personal gain, or have some other agenda behind their advice. The objective nature of the coaching position protects the leader from these hidden agendas. The coach wants your best, and your best alone. I recently told an executive I was working with, “I know you are concerned about the other members of your team. We’ll find ways to help them. But I am primarily focused on your improvement. And we can help them get their own coach.” He needed to know that rain or shine, in success or struggle, he had someone who was focused on him and his own best practices.

A Structure | The coach has an orientation and structure she has studied and is competent in. She has a philosophy of improvement. She knows what leaders need to do, and how to provide the resources they need to be successful. This structure is what distinguishes coaching from friendship, support and encouragement. It may include these elements, but the structure takes you much further. Friends won’t usually ask you to report back to them on a homework assignment, but a coach will. She operates much like a football coach; designing the plays that will help you to win the game. She knows what to anticipate, and what the outcome likely will be.

Individual Understanding |The best coaches are very good listeners. They know that real success doesn’t come from a cookie-cutter approach, but from an individualized understanding. While the overall coaching structure may apply to all clients, a good coach actively listens to you and understands your individual situation and context. There is a great deal of room within the framework of the structure. He then tailors the approach to you, rather than tailoring you to the approach. He also digs beneath the surface, beyond the symptoms and behaviors that are going on. He gets to the underlying themes that are either holding you back, or needing to be developed.

To illustrate, let’s say that you have a difficult time completing tasks and projects. You are a great starter, but somehow you find that things never get finished. You know you could be achieving at a higher level, but those unfinished things are holding you back, and you want your coach to help you resolve this.

There are several possible causes of your problem, such as: allowing others to dictate your schedule, living a chaotic life, having a tendency to rescue others, being attracted to the urgent over the important, becoming bored in being diligent, experiencing a personal crisis, fearing failure, or fearing success. A good coach will listen and get to know you. He will uncover with you the real theme that is holding you back, and then set up the steps to help you get past it.

A process orientation | Achieving lasting change and improvement takes time, so don’t expect instant results. In his book Outliers, cultural and business expert Malcolm Gladwell says that truly exceptional people who make a difference have had around 10,000 hours of experience in their field of expertise (pp. 35-68). Real success involves real time. A coach understands the process, and uses it for your betterment. Together you develop the path, set the incremental goals, deal with the obstacles, and keep things accountable.

Coaching can help you make the changes you want to see; it can also help you make the changes you haven’t yet recognized, but need to. Best wishes on the process.