Anybody in the Accountability Chart who has people directly reporting to him/her has the primary responsibility of LMA. If you manage anybody, even if you’re only managing contractors, the primary job is to Lead them, Manage them, and help hold them Accountable (LMA). These things are our main obligations as leaders. Here’s the added secret: When we focus on these things well and have the right people in the right seats, a leader’s job becomes simple and leaders become rockstars.
Lead Them: The leading comes down to, in essence ,working on the business. It’s helping people understand where the company is going, how the company will get there, and how their own role will help achieve those goals. Thinking about how you can help lead your people means spending the time to work on the business, not just in it.
Manage Them: The second component is managing these people. That’s where we’re working in the business. It means working with your team, and helping direct reports know what the expectations are. It also means understanding what their expectations are of us as leaders. It’s a two-way street, not a one-way street. Management is not a dictatorship, so it’s always the responsibility of the leader is to make sure that two way communication is there. We all communicate differently (stay tuned for another blog post on this), so managing comes down to making sure that the expectations for each role are really, really clear and that everybody knows how we’re going to get somewhere together.
Hold Them Accountable: If you’re leading and managing well, accountability will be created. Holding your team accountable means that we’re going to make sure that there’s the accountability of touching base on a regular basis, and removing any barriers or obstacles to success. If you’ve found the right people with the People Analyzer and have put those people in the right seats with an Accountability Chart, holding them accountable means figuring out the right times to make sure that we’re all on the same page. At the minimum, accountability check-ins need to happen quarterly. But if you have direct reports, it’s best to have a weekly meeting where you’re touching base. They should know what your quarterly objectives and goals for the future are, and how they will contribute to their success. Helping them to understand what role they play in achieving these goals is critical.
When you begin to consistently implement LMA in this format, you will be creating more of a cohesive team.
My personal goals for my company team at Entrepreneurial Advisors, for example, include weekly check-ins. I also make it a point to share my own rocks and personal quarterly reports with them, so that they know where I want to go and how they’re going to help us get there. These check-ins, or variations of these, are crucial to good leadership. It is our obligation as leaders to do this, not just our right. In addition, because of the trust and social contract I have with my team, they help to hold me accountable as well.
If you’d like to learn more about how I lead, manage, and hold my team accountable, or how I can help you, please feel free to reach out anytime. As always, there’s no obligations or expectations. We’re just here to help. Check back for next week’s post on the value of a proven process.
