From Authority to Accountability

One of the themes I’m working on most with several of my clients is effective accountability.

After a session a couple months ago where it didn’t feel like I had been as helpful as I try to be I did some rethinking.

I realized that one missing piece from my presentation was a better description of the range of interventions leaders can use to help their people become more independent and have more agency in their work.

Too often leaders feel like there’s a binary decision between being hands off or fully directive. But there’s a full continuum to explore.

Another way to think this through is to consider what authority is in play.

Most of us really want our team to operate with as much internal individual authority as possible. We want to develop personal agency and the ability for people to self-direct. That’s a way to develop people, improve morale, and increase productivity.

It’s also a lot more fun.

External authority, that is when the boss is the one driving behaviour, is a limited resource that comes at a high cost.

Wise leaders understand that there are absolutely times when we need to use our authority. When the stakes and urgency are high, when people aren’t yet able to self-direct, when there aren’t systems and policy in place to guide in a particular situation.

But wise leaders also know that using external authority too often undermines people, decreases trust, and requires constant monitoring and increasing consequences to maintain compliance. It’s a limited resource to be used sparingly.

In between micromanaging and total autonomy there’s lots of room for leaders to use suggestion, modeling, persuasion, and other strategies to move people towards more internal authority.

And this doesn’t even get to the health that comes from peer accountability.

If you’re struggling with someone who seems to need constant supervision it may be helpful to consider what kind of authority is driving their behaviour and what different ways you can help increase their internal authority.

Contact me if I can be helpful to you and/or your organization.

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