Today Jim Schleckser talks on a topic that we see a lot when we're dealing with CEOs – accountability. What is accountability? The word is literally the definition of what accountability is, which is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or account for one's actions. In other words, transparently accept and explain what I've been doing and the outcome I got.

When somebody says, I see a problem, I own a problem, I'm going to solve a problem, that's accountability, particularly when they do it transparently and share it with their team and their boss, that's accountability. On the negative side of non-accountable is, I wait and see. I finger point, it wasn't me, it was somebody else. I deny it. We see that all the time. Not my job.

All of that is a lack of accountability, particularly as you grow the organization as an entrepreneur, we run into leaders that tell you I am trying to get the best out of my team and I struggled to hold them accountable to achieve the results. When you're trying to hold people accountable, the first thing you have to have is an identifiable outcome. In other words, this is your obligation. Whether you're managing one person or managing an organization, you need to be clear about where you're going. So what does it look like? When are we going to get there? How are we going to know we achieved it?

The classic model for accountability is smart goals. So it's specific. We're going to achieve 12 million in revenue. It's measurable, we're going to measure it by the P & L. We'll know if we got there or not – it is achievable. That's the A in smart, right? Achievable - we did $10 million last year. We've been growing a million or 2 million a year. 12 is well within the capability of this organization. Revenue is one of the more relevant things in a business environment, but it might be generating a number of leads and that's relevant because it drives sales.

In this episode, Jim shares the critical elements of accountability and how to achieve accountability in your organization.

• Specific, measurable goals that can be evaluated
• Achievable objectives with specific timeframes and outcomes
• Follow-up tips to successfully hold people accountable
• 4 elements that define accountability - goals, expectations, awareness of what it means, social pressure
• Tactical elements of accountability – holding yourself accountable first, providing clarity and resources, removing roadblocks, providing feedback, rewarding appropriately