BEING ACCOUNTABLE - THE KEY TO HIGHLY EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP
In schools, we are privileged to work and serve alongside a large number of highly effective leaders. Schools are, af er all, leader-rich organisations. Of course there is the Executive Leadership team- the Principal, the Deputy Principals, the Heads of Academic programs and of Student Wellbeing. But then there are Heads of Senior, Middle and Junior Schools, and Heads Academic Departments.
Big Departments might even have Assistant Heads of Department who look after particular courses or subjects within departments – say in Science where there are senior teachers in charge of Physics, Chemistry and the rest. There may be wellbeing staff titled as Heads of House or Heads of Year. If the school has Boarders, there will be a Head of Boarding. Then there are the non-academic leaders – the Business Manager and his team; the Heads of Grounds and of Student Services, and on it goes. You even have your student leaders who have their own responsibilities. Having adult leaders who are highly effective influences and helps to shape the kinds of leaders your young people will become.
In good schools, the highly effective leadership that is displayed is highly likely to be a direct result of the fact that every leader, at whatever level they lead, knows they are accountable for their leadership. Indeed, leadership accountability is at the heart of any organisation’s ability to achieve optimal performance and to build a strong culture, according to Shirley Davis (see 5 behaviours that demonstrate highly effective leadership, in Fastcompany, 25 Nov 24.)
Without accountability, Davis argues, even the most talented and well-intentioned leaders fail. They fail to meet their performance goals, develop their teams, hire top talent, coach their employees, communicate clearly, and optimise performance. In short, they fail the organisation altogether. This is a lot of failings, but when leaders are committed to achieving optimal performance by aligning their thinking, behaviours, and attitude with their words, they can avoid these kinds of failures.
Team members across all areas of employment today place a higher premium on their leaders walking the talk and being more accountable, Davis asserts, suggesting that people are impatient and disengaged when they sense they are working for a leader who makes mistakes, makes bad decisions, or doesn’t know the answer to something and, rather than admitting it, they deflect it by blaming someone else, justifying it, or acting like it didn’t happen. This lack of accountability happens all too often in the workplace and it undermines trust, engagement, and communication, Davis attests.
Davis goes on to say that at a time when we continue to experience accelerated change, increasing complexities, growing pressures, and competing priorities, demonstrating accountability as a leader couldn’t be more critical. In fact, accountability was one of eight key factors driving positive work-related outcomes, according to McKinsey & Company’s The State of Organisations 2023 Report. The McKinsey Report also found that by contrast, organisations with high leadership accountability tend to be healthier.
Davis explains that she believes that leaders are the thermostat in any organisation —meaning they have the power to ‘set the right temperature’ and ‘create the right environment’ for how things are done and how people are treated. She goes on to outline five behaviours that matter the most if leaders are to demonstrate their own sense of their accountability and thereby, to have a real impact on team performance, personal relationships, and the success of the organisation.
Consistency matters
Being predictable as a leader is okay, Davis assures you, noting that the reality is that your people actually want to be led. In other words, they want you to do the job leaders are supposed to do. They want to work for a leader who provides them with guidance and helps them navigate the terrain of uncertainty and change, Davis declares, adding that when people know what to expect from you and how you’ll respond, it enhances engagement, increases satisfaction, and improves their confidence in their own decision making . . . all of which leads to greater productivity.
Davis asked more than 50 people what it meant for a leader to be consistent.
The most consistent responses were:
“They do what they say they’re going to do.”
“Who I see today is the same person I will see tomorrow.”
“They are steady and reliable.”
“They communicate expectations and manage them.”
“They do the right thing over and over again.”
So, ask yourself: Would your direct reports say these things about you?
Taking ownership matters
Being an accountable leader – regardless of whether you are the Principal, the Head of Sports, the Grade Leader in Year 5 or a team leader among the laboratory staff – if you hold a leadership position of any kind in a school, being accountable requires a personal commitment to honesty and integrity. That means owning up to your part when things go wrong, admitting when you don’t know something, and apologising when you make a mistake.
I don’t know about you, Davis shares, but I’ve worked for those kinds of leaders who made mistakes and bad decisions and then deflected them by blaming, justifying, or denying the truth rather than admitting it. That kind of leadership undermines trust, diminishes engagement, and confounds good communication.
Simple phrases that can be used in these situations where you do err, or otherwise generally muck things up, include:
“I was wrong.”
“I made a mistake.”
“I don’t know.”
And the most powerful one of all:
“I am sorry.”
These phrases are perhaps the most under-utilised — yet among the most impactful —phrases a leader can use. Add these three phrases to your vocabulary and be willing to use them, Davis urges.
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Sound, and soundly-based, decision-making matters
Every day as leaders at work we are expected to, and have to, make decisions, Davis helpfully reminds us, and as leaders, those decisions can affect our direct reports, customers, colleagues, and ourselves.
Unfortunately, she continues, far too many leaders are guilty of ineffective decision-making or they avoid making decisions altogether.
Let me share what works for me, Davis says:
I have a “personal board of advisors.” These are people I might trust, who are smarter and more successful than me, and who have “been there and done that.” I use them as a think tank, as a sounding board, and as resources for informing my decisions. And yes, this can and has included my direct reports. Don’t be too proud to ask for input and to leverage the experience of others around you.
(See Becoming a better leader – instantly! - the piece I posted yesterday: Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed.)
Davis is right. Seek input from others with different expertise and experience. Use the talent you have around you. Encourage your staff, even the youngest, newest member, to feel able to offer their ideas and suggestions in the appropriate contexts. Build a rich resource base from which to launch your decision - especially when it affects everyone you are responsible for and accountable to.
Providing feedback matters
One of my worst experiences, Davis recounts, was working for a leader who got her thrills from criticising, devaluing, and making people feel small. She was inconsistent in sharing feedback and rarely had anything positive to say. It was always difficult to know where you stood with her, yet she would hold you accountable for results and outcomes. Needless to say, everyone was miserable under her leadership.
Eventually, I moved on to another company, she goes on. It certainly taught me what not to do. But thank goodness for the last leader I had the pleasure of working with for six years. I call him my best boss ever. Contrary to the bad leader, he taught me what providing feedback effectively looked like. He created a very positive work environment. I never felt berated or marginalised by him, even when things didn’t go well. He didn’t even like to use the word “criticism” because it had a negative connotation.
Notice that I didn’t use the word criticism either, Davis points out. He called it “coaching for improvement” or “corrective feedback.” And the way he did it was to ask me how I felt things were going on a project or a task, or how things went during a presentation. He also asked me how I could be more effective and improve. Once he heard my thoughts, he would share his.
He also provided consistent feedback, both positive and corrective, Davis recalls. We met formally once a month to discuss projects and special assignments, but if I needed feedback before the meeting, he maintained an open-door policy. He trusted and believed in me and my work ethic and reminded me often that he hired me because of my expertise. And he relied on my expertise and experience and gave me the autonomy to do my job. He consistently offered his support and reminded me that I had a lot of talent and strengths to offer. It was never his way or the highway.
Davis wants us to know that under this boss’s leadership, she thrived. She was fully engaged at work. She trusted him and I felt valued. She gave more than was expected. She came up with lots of creative solutions and above all, she wanted to stay.
This is what giving positive feedback looks like and it’s what being an inclusive leader looks like, Davis avers. It’s the experience that every worker wants. Davis says she was proud to say that she has provided the same experience to her own team, who often refer to her as their best boss ever. She takes pride in this title and works hard to be that kind of leader.
(For more on this, see my recent Linkedin post, How do you feel about getting feedback? 21 Nov 24)
Communicating effectively matters
This is probably pretty obvious. Communicating clearly is key to most of what you say or write, especially when you are setting out your vision, formalising your proposed strategies and giving direction to your team – at whatever level you actually lead. It is far easier to quantify your accountability when objectives are clearly set; action plans are clearly set out; individual responsibilities are allocated; and finally and most importantly, when accountabilities are specified. Davis says she is constantly communicating her expectations to her staff, communicating her organisation’s values to her clients, and sharing strategies and solutions that encourage and empower her team members to implement them. And every day she is influencing the thinking, the behaviour, and the decisions of others.
Helpfully, Davis details some ideas and best practices she has picked up along the way that have contributed to her success in communicating effectively.
She starts by always identifying and recognising who her ‘audience’ is. She acknowledges that they possess diverse experiences, expectations, and learning styles, that they come from different backgrounds, and they have different levels of knowledge. So, in response, she strives to be flexible and adaptable in her communication style to come across as being more engaging relatable and to have as great an impact as possible. In brief, she speaks to each member of her audience individually as though they were the only person in the room.
In summary, Davis puts into practice what she calls the four “C”s of communicating effectively:
I am with Davis in her closing remarks, where she says demonstrating accountability as a leader is not easy but it is critical and necessary that you do. If you fail as a leader to accept your responsibility and fail to be authentically accountable for your actions, you can hardly expect more junior leaders at subordinate levels of your organisation to take their accountability seriously.
When the most senior leaders in an organisation consistently exemplify accountability, they establish the groundwork for a positive organisational culture that values responsibility and commitment, and where mistakes are openly acknowledged with transparency. That is the kind of culture that inspires, encourages and recognises excellence, and characterises the kind of workplace where talented people seek to be employed. It is well worth your while to strive to make your school that kind of place!