Accountability and Leadership - Are you ready to nail both?

Accountability is key.

Whether it’s the team at joyFULL, a mentor, or someone close within your company, you need that objective person to bounce ideas off of and help keep you accountable to the targets and goals you want to achieve.

As one person, it’s simply impossible for you to see from all perspectives. You simply can’t. And sometimes you’re just too deep in it to see what it looks like from the outside.

Sometimes, all it takes is the physical act of writing something down to self-rectify your thinking about it. Sometimes it takes a quick comment from another person to realize something that was true (or false) all along.

Start by writing things down (not just thinking them!). Use powerful “If, then” statements to flush out your thinking, recognize opportunities, and move into a mindset of abundance.

We had a number of offices that were devastated by a hurricane, and I was in a tough spot financially. Most of my money had been reinvesting back into the business to grow it and most of my employees probably had more in savings than I did. My back was against the wall and I was getting pinned by expenses.

I see revenue-generating like offense and expense management like defense. We were really good at offense, but when the hurricane came around and blew the top off the whole operation (literally), it revealed that our defense was weak — and you need both to win the game.

So, my team and I practiced fear-setting (check out this blog post to what it is).

I didn’t know what to do. Luckily, as part of my team, I had an accountant and finance connections. I put the issues out there, they built out responses, and we worked on creating our written Plan C. My team had my back, and I knew it. As soon as our offices opened back up, our strategies were ready to go and we hit the gas. We had weathered the storm.

That’s the value of having a team and rock-solid accountability partners.

The Leader’s Balancing Act

Don’t beat yourself up if Plan A or Plan B doesn’t work. It’s all part of the journey, part of your growth, and, in the case of anything pandemic-related, no one could’ve seen it coming. As a leader, especially in our current climate with the pandemic, you don’t have the time to protect your ego from the reality that your plan didn’t work. Your team and your business can’t afford for their leader to be stuck in a mindset of defeat.

As a leader, you need to have that perfect balance of vulnerability and confidence.

Your vulnerability allows you to recognize the reality of the situation and reach out for support and guidance through your team and accountability partners. Your confidence in the solution, whatever it may be, is what inspires your team and comforts them in a time where strong leadership is so necessary. By being vulnerable and confident you set the example for your team to be the same.

The new and improved way of doing things is through collaboration and a strong team approach. Gone are the days where leaders stay distant from their teams and see them as a means to an end. We know now that true leadership inspires and empowers the unique leaders within others to create something great for everyone. That’s the new normal for our industry and the world and why this is the greatest time to be alive for those who want to do something BIG.