Build Accountability the Military Way to Reap Huge Benefits
In the military, mistakes can cost lives. There is a clear chain of command, and everyone is held accountable for their actions. Each team member knows what they have to do and what they can expect their comrades to do. There’s no tolerance for unreliability.
This culture of accountability is what gives a military team the confidence to move surely and swiftly to achieve its target objectives. CEOs can take some lessons from this approach if they want their teams with similar effectiveness and efficiency.
Purpose Powers Everything
To work as a unit, a team needs to share a common vision. Leaders must set the course and communicate it in ways that connect with and compel team members. Setting the right purpose and vision is your first step in commanding attention and commitment. If your team members are inspired by a clear direction forward, they can align their efforts and energy. The right purpose will connect with the deeper needs of team members, such as a sense of connection and doing work that stimulates them.
Set Clear Expectations
An absence of clear expectations hampers any team’s performance and negatively impacts engagement, relationships, and teamwork. A lack of clear expectations can also lead to costly and disruptive labor relations problems. Be specific in your expectations for teams and individuals, including the consequences for both achievement and non-achievement. Expectations should be:
- Challenging but achievable — You want teams and individuals to be pushed to do their best, but not overstretched to the point where they risk burning out.
- Clear — Document expectations so you can easily refer to them at any time, and provide a “why” for each expectation to ensure it’s in line with your larger vision.
- Approved by all parties — Expectations are more effective when they are reached via consultation and everyone has agreed on them up front.
- Two-way — Your teams have a right to expectations of you; make sure you’re clear on what those are, too.
- Communicated — You can’t “set it and forget it” when it comes to expectations; they must be regularly communicated and revisited.
Make Accountability Integral
For accountability to be effective, it has to permeate the organization — it has to be integral to every aspect of its functioning. Individuals must consistently operate for the benefit of the team. Creating routines and “rituals” that cement team-oriented thinking can be helpful — a five-minute all-hands team meeting every morning, for example.
Extending personal discipline to small acts can also contribute to a culture of accountability, as long as demands aren’t draconian. In his 2014 commencement speech that has since gone viral, Naval Adm. William McRaven told University of Texas graduates about the importance of making your bed first thing every morning. That first task of the day creates a sense of achievement that can motivate people to complete subsequent tasks throughout the day.
“If you want to change the world, start by making your bed,” McRaven says. He further explained just how important the small things can be by explaining how the person who packed his parachute had to do it right every time.
Set the Example
The most crucial aspect of creating an accountability framework is that you, as the executive, set the example. If the organization’s leader can’t be relied upon to do what’s expected of him or her, it sends a message to employees that accountability is optional.
CEO accountability is often tested the most — or at least, in the most public way — during major crises. How does the CEO respond to, say, a breach of customer data or other PR nightmare? Is the CEO visible, empathetic, and engaged in the crisis response? Or does he or she hide behind spokespersons? The crisis may have nothing to do with a failure of leadership, but even so, CEOs who accept responsibility during major crises are more likely to win the respect of employees.
Review and Feedback
Former British army officer and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst instructor Dominic Mahoney explains how the military introduced reviews at the end of a training exercise or actual engagement. Four simple questions are addressed: What were our objectives? What was achieved? What did we learn? What must we do to improve next time?
Accountability is enhanced when people know their behavior will be reviewed. Peer review is particularly effective because it enforces the fact that one’s actions affect the whole team. It also fosters a learning environment where the whole team learns from what was done wrong and what was done right. When done constructively, the review and feedback process can lead to the team becoming “self-accountable” — operating based on trust and mutual respect.
Enforce Consequences
Enforcing consequences closes the “accountability loop,” so don’t be tempted to drop the ball here. In some cases, how consequences are handled can be more important than the consequences themselves. The team will be aware of any non-performance and will be watching to see how management addresses it. Trying to sweep things under the rug because they’re unpleasant to deal with will only prove that you don’t hold yourself accountable to the team.
Accountability is a key principle behind any organization — without it, it’s impossible for any group of people to work toward a common goal. Adapting these military tips for creating a culture of accountability can elevate your teams’ performance swiftly and enduringly.
