Captivate & Hone Accountability

in
Towards Excellence in
Governance
Priming activity

Hold the Rope

Imagine that you are hiking along a
massive cliff and you need to climb up a
rock face with only a rope keeping you
from falling to your death. On the other
end of that rope, one person in your
organization has to help pull you to
safety and any slip up could cost your
life. the rope is secured through a bunch
of pulleys, so body weight and strength
are no longer factors. Write down the
name of the person you would want to
be holding the rope for you.
Imagine now that the tides are
turned and now you’re the one at
the top of the rope, everyone else
is at the bottom and you must
help other persons get to the top.
Again, keep in mind that strength
and body weight aren't factors in
this exercise.
write down three names you
would want to help and explain
why.
The Alpha of
the Pack
Accountability
Accountability entails
accepting responsibility for
the results expected of you,
both positive and negative. It
means accepting
responsibility, regardless of
the consequences
 Accountability
Accountability is accepting
responsibility for your actions
and being willing to own the
outcomes of your choices,
decisions, and actions.
Accountability

How do you captivate

accountability?
1. Clear Goals and Targets
Having unclear goals, unclear targets, is a
sure-fire way of creating confusion and
frustration among your team. It’s
impossible to have leadership
accountability and develop a culture of
accountability if you don’t know what you
need to be accountable for.
1.Clear Goals and Targets
The SMART goal method is not a new one, but that
doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. Take the time to see that
the goals you have given your team are Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. If
they are not, then it’s time to go back and work on
making them transparent.
2. Think and plan ahead

An accountable leader have a wider

perspective than the rest of the group
members. He thinks about certain
concern about future state.
2. Think and plan ahead
To be able to make a challenging vision and make
it a possibility, he breaks the larger steps into
smaller to make it more manageable. They then
arrange these smaller steps into a chronological
order.

Remember the eagle.

3. He knows he cannot do anything alone

When things got bad, some will push through no

matter what.
My experience with accountable leaders has
taught me that they don’t easily fall into this trap.
Instead they seek out help.
3. He knows he cannot do anything alone

Many leaders are proud, and they should be. It’s

no easy feat leading a team. Accountable leaders
don’t let their pride stop them for asking for help.
They act ask for help the minute they need it; they
don’t wait for a situation to become a crisis.
4. they provide honest, constructive
feedbacks
A leader does not blame, but he does make his
members accountable as he accepts the
responsibility if they made a wrong move.
Feedback allows the team to know how they are
performing, learn, grow and achieve results.
4. they provide honest, constructive
feedbacks
A post-evaluation is good, but
sometimes you cannot wait for it to
before you correct a certain mishap.
5.Don’t play the blame game
A leader is the main player, he is not the victim. Until you hold
yourself accountable, you are a victim. A victim is weak and
tend to blame the forces outside his force.
A leader has a power of his own attitude and takes on planning
his move, thus he does not put the finger on other people about
decision that he needed to make.
5. Don’t play the blame game

If you are being praised for a certain job- give the

credit to your people. But if people are noticing
some loopholes in the project, take the
responsibility.

Remember the story of the bucket of pail.

6. Be the example

When individuals demonstrate

accountability through their actions, they
are setting the pace for leadership and
performance excellence.
 6.Be the example
Discipline – staying on track and not getting derailed by
competing priorities or desires
Integrity – being honest about the likelihood of delivering on
commitments, and apologizing when something goes wrong
Execution – mastering new skills and behaviors and striving to
achieve executional excellence

The king of the pride.

7. Learn from others
Training in specific skills and competencies can help
leaders understand what it means to be accountable and
which behaviors help to demonstrate accountability. By
building accountability into your leadership
development program, leaders at all levels will learn
how to deliver on commitments and then see the
importance of being reliable and trustworthy in the eyes
of others.
8. Effort versus outcomes
It is also important to communicate the
importance of results, so that effort does not get
confused with outcomes.
Remember that efforts are appreciated but
outcomes are more valuable.
9. Make sure that there is inner understanding
At the outset of any initiative or activity, it’s important
for individuals to understand expectations, the resources
and support available, and what they need to do to be
accountable for their part. This helps to avoid the pitfall
of over-committing and under-delivering.
9. Make sure that there is inner understanding

Mentorship and coaching – help

individuals see different behaviors that
can help them demonstrate accountability
9. Make sure that there is inner understanding

Multi-rater assessments – show individuals

how their own accountability (or lack thereof)
impacts others
9. Make sure that there is inner understanding

Team meetings – provide an opportunity for

regularly reviewing and discussing the
progress of everyone’s accountabilities and
how they impact the team’s goals and
objectives
10. don’t request for it, require

Members need to understand that you require

accountability in your team. It is not a request, it is a
requirement to ensure intention leads to actual results
For individuals who manage others, it’s necessary to
set clear expectations, and then ensure there is
agreement that a commitment is doable and the goal
is obtainable.
10. don’t request for it, require

Individuals demonstrate accountability

every day—by delivering on
commitments and showing in their
behavior that they can be relied on to
achieve results.
11. ACCOUNTABILITY CAN ONLY BE
LEARNED WHEN YOU DO LESS
Accountability is when a person can take care
of themselves and take responsibility for their
own life. An accountable person doesn’t need
someone to tell them what to do.
11. ACCOUNTABILITY CAN ONLY BE
LEARNED WHEN YOU DO LESS
The only way to teach accountability is
by letting your members be responsible
for more.
Remember the story of the butterfly.
12. Know when is opinion vs. conclusion

A good accountable leader knows when

conclusion is required in a decision making.
Understanding the “Accountability Ladder”
Level 1 – Remain unaware
This represents someone who is completely unaware that there’s a goal
to pursue or a problem to solve.

Level 2 – Blame others

This is someone who is aware of the circumstances but chooses not to
take responsibility for anything. Instead, they pin it on someone else.
Understanding the “Accountability Ladder”
Level 3 – Rationalize
At this level, people try to justify why they won’t accept responsibility
for an outcome or decision.

Level 4 – Wait and hope

This level represents someone who is passive and chooses not to take
action – with the hopes that the problem will go away or resolve itself.
Understanding the “Accountability Ladder”
Level 5 – Accept the situation
This is someone who acknowledges that there’s a problem and that
changes need to be made.

Level 6 – Acknowledge ownership

This represents a person who is not only accepting of whatever needs to
change but is also willing to accept their role in it..
Understanding the “Accountability Ladder”
Level 7 – Look for solutions
At this level, people are actively looking for solutions to overcome the
challenges they’re facing.

Level 8 – Take action

Finally, this level represents someone who takes all the necessary
actions to get the job done.
Understanding the “Accountability Ladder”

In general, levels 1 to 4 represent behaviors

associated with low accountability, while levels 5
to 8 represent behaviors associated with high
accountability
Why do we need accountability in student- leaders?
Ending activity

Using the ladder we have just learned,

assess yourself as a leader. By citing
examples, tell us in what stage of the
ladder you are in.