Five elements–often referred to as the ‘five Cs’–play a major role in leadership and team accountability. These five Cs are: common purpose, clear expectations, communication and alignment, coaching and collaboration, and consequences and results.
These elements can be found in the leading employee engagement tools used to encourage greater accountability in your organization.
A Closer Look at Elements of Accountability
The best way to understand the impact of the five Cs of leadership and team accountability is to explain how they are essential to the effectiveness of an organization:
Common Purpose
When goals are clearly defined, employees are aware of and more focused on what’s necessary to accomplish tasks and overall objectives. They plan better, perform better, overcome challenges better, and achieve results better.
Internal and external stakeholders should also be brought into an initiative early in the process. This builds buy-in and accountability from other teams and functions impacted by your activities.
Clear Expectations
Leaders need to ensure that everyone on their team understands their roles and responsibilities, desired outcomes, deadlines, and dependencies.
Managers can accomplish this by setting quantifiable goals for each team member, meeting with them regularly to discuss challenges and possible resolutions, and tracking the progress of individuals and teams. Accountability and performance start when there is clarity about expectations.
Communication and Alignment
Leaders need to be transparent and concise when communicating the goals, mission, and vision of a company, department, and team. This ensures employees and management are aligned on a common purpose and holds members accountable for meeting their objectives.
At the same time, leaders should lead by example. This further communicates the importance of all employees being accountable for their actions by abiding by the same standards and values.
Leaders must also convey that they are receptive to new ideas and ways of achieving results. An open-door policy encourages employees to speak up and open new opportunities for improvement. Open communication also builds trust and camaraderie among team members, spurring them to further collaborate and pitch in when needed.
Weekly meetings and regular check-ins can ensure that everyone on a team stays aligned with the common purpose and doesn’t deviate from the course. At the same time, priorities can be adjusted and reinforced.
Coaching and Collaboration
Coaching team members improves performance and their sense of accountability. This is particularly important when new people join a team who aren’t familiar with the team members or systems that are a part of a project or work stream. Part of the coaching process should include an evaluation stage so that each team member has a firm grasp of how their actions and skill sets impact outcomes.
Consequences and Outcomes
Constructive feedback should be given for both successes and failures. It needs to be specific and relatable to the individual role. When consequences–both positive and negative–are reviewed in a constructive manner, this information builds confidence and helps fill any gaps to achieve better results.
Celebrate major milestones through internal communications and rewards. This will further motivate team members, underscore the importance of accountability, and strengthen their commitment to the end goal.
Closing Thoughts
Accountability is relatively easy to achieve and maintain in the workplace. The five Cs accountability framework can help organizations craft effective accountability practices to improve goal-oriented behavior and dedication from employees.
Leading enterprises rely on the Centrical platform to enhance leadership and team accountability. Our gamified solution also supports the five keys of decision-making and the five Cs of effective teamwork. Contact us today to see how the Centrical all-in-one performance experience solution can improve productivity and increase customer satisfaction at your company!
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