A common challenge for leaders is getting their teams to take ownership and accountability for their goals. Following these three steps will help your team take ownership and hold each other accountable to the goals they’ve set.
- Schedule a brief daily or weekly accountability session--15-20 minutes max. Have each team member share what they’ve done, what they’ll do, and what’s getting in the way of progress. Your job is to remove any obstacles in their way.
- Help your team create a dashboard or scoreboard to track progress on the goals. Make sure it’s visible to everyone. Review and update it in every session.
- Celebrate every time your team reaches a milestone or completes a goal and thank them for their efforts.
Increase ownership by regularly sharing with your team why their work matters and how it influences the organization for good. We have found that team members actually feel a greater responsibility towards each other than they do towards the organization itself. By increasing their accountability to each other, you increase their level of engagement and the degree to which they feel responsible to deliver on their portion of the goal because they don’t want to let the team down.
Leading a team requires a different skillset than working as an individual contributor. To succeed in the face of new challenges, first-level leaders need to shift how they think and act. Download our latest guide and develop your people into a high-performing team.
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