Jackie Zach
May 17, 2024
I teach a 12-week Management Training course and hands down the biggest question I get is, “How do I hold my staff accountable?”
One of the concepts we teach our clients at ActionCOACH® is the idea of Above and Below the Point of Power.
Think of the Point of Power as a decision point, where you get to choose how you think, act and react to any circumstance, good or bad. Your decision can go one of two ways, above the point or below the point.
Above the point is Ownership, Accountability and Responsibility. Responsibility for our own activities, accountability for the numbers or results and ownership of your role within the business. Not just taking accountability and responsibility but taking them to heart.
Below the point is Blame, Excuses and Denial, almost the exact opposite of ownership, accountability and responsibility. Lack of management leads to these victim behaviors.
What does this have to do with holding people accountable? It all starts here. It starts with you and the culture you create for your business.
Do you live most of the time above or below the Point of Power? If you are below the point the majority of the time, the business will have a culture based in victimland and will attract more victims. If you answered “below”, congratulations for recognizing and admitting it. Today is a great day to start moving yourself toward more ownership, accountability and responsibility. Remember it all starts with you. As you go, the rest of the team and company go.
What would your business or team look like and how much fun would you have if everyone in the business was above the point, say, 85-90% of the time?
Accountability starts by fostering a culture based on ownership, accountability and responsibility and each person doing their part to live above the Point of Power. Once it is part of the culture then you and your team can work together to help each other be champions and have a lot more fun doing it.