I came across the image below on Twitter and it resonated with me from a leadership perspective. Leaders need to be accountable but too often it is about to who rather than simply being accountable through all of one’s actions. There is a doing part of accountability but in true accountable leadership it is far more about being.
Here’s my take on each of the nine traits:
- Transparency
- I am who I am! Leaders who put up a façade are generally trying to hide faults. While great leaders may do exceptional things, they are still human. The transparent leader is clear in her communications but also vulnerable in her being. Leaders may have to develop a tough skin, but they cannot lose their compassionate heart and transparency ensures the mirror is accurate when it comes to the reflection.
- Improvement
- Great leaders are always on a continuous improvement journey. They act like professionals, knowing that getting better is just simply what is required. Maintaining the status quo is falling behind and no leader has ever been hired to maintain the status quo. Improvement comes not in self isolation but rather in seeking honest feedback from others and then in a willingness to go beyond your own comfort zone.
- Relatedness
- This is closely linked to transparency. I may work in the corporate office and be the “boss” but am I relatable as a person? Can I connect with my employees? Do we share common values, interests, experiences, etc? If employees can’t relate to the leader or visa versa, then the leader is simply a figurehead and little connection will ever be made.
- Ownership
- Praise in public, discipline in private. Shield your employees and be the firewall when things don’t go well. That doesn’t mean accept incompetent behaviour or action but protect when you need to protect. Stand tall and own it! You expect loyalty from your employees, they deserve your loyalty as well.
- Resilience
- Bad things do happen to good people, but great leaders respond and adapt. It requires a tremendous amount of self-care to be able to look at other possibilities and not get stuck in defeat. Resilient leaders bounce back because they are confident not only in themselves but in those who surround them. They don’t get lost in the small details (but they do know them) but always see the bigger picture.
- Experimentation
- Until failure becomes a permanent condition, it is just a part of the learning journey. Greatness never comes from doing the same thing over and over. Tweaks and pivots are always required to moving forward to the preferred future. Experimentation is not “Ready! Aim! Fire!” but rather “Ready! Fire! Aim!” Course corrections, building the plane in the air are examples of experimentation.
- Integrity
- It may be number seven here, but it is number one in leadership. Simply put, no integrity, no leadership! Enough said!
- Commitment
- Linked to resilience. You can’t succeed with “half-assed” commitment, and it is hard work! Commitment starts with the heart, moves to the head and then to the hands. It means being clear on your priorities and then executing on them…and them means 2-3 at the most. You can’t be committed to multiple priorities. Commit to only a few!
- Courage
- Leaders make tough decisions and have hard conversations all the time. The best, do this through strong relations and high levels of trust. It is not an absence of fear but a willingness to do difficult tasks within fear. Courage allows us to go beyond, to forge a path when there is none and to lead in a world that is neither black or white. Courageous leaders live in the grey without losing sight of the vision and mission of the organization.
If leadership was so easy, we’d have many more leaders in the world. Great leaders don’t just have 3 or 4 of the above accountability traits, they have all of them. It is just not that easy to be an accountable leader but focusing on these nine traits will move you closer to where you need to be in your organization.
