Accountability

I've been thinking a lot lately about walking the talk. At least in my world-- and I think also in the world-- there seems to be a bigger focus on accountability. Does a person do what they say they will? Does a company actually live its values? Do I?

I see this playing out in all areas of life. Does my husband do the dishes when he says he will? (Sometimes). Does a brand that stands for transparency and inclusivity actually practice that in how it manages its staff? (Not always).

Once I went to the offices of a top luxury jewelry brand in New York City for a meeting. At the reception desk was a communal bowl of Lays potato chips for guests. Even years later, that still baffles me. We are incredibly perceptive of the disconnects between what we expect and what is. I'm sure I wasn't the only one to notice the gas station snacks, yet there they were. Did anyone ever speak up to hold that brand accountable for their values, I wonder?

This year one of my favorite projects was to test if a brand's intended image was actually how it was perceived by it's ideal customer. They could not have been further apart. 

At another client, what the leader of a team said he expected was a drastically different from what he modeled. This confusion created a level of stress that got in the way of his team's impact internally. As a result, his team was overworking and unclear.

With one of my entrepreneur clients, a senior staff member repeatedly blew off meetings. It was a real point of frustration because the expectation was clear--everyone must attend the meetings. Yet, there was no accountability. And everyone noticed, so it discredited her as a leader.

In a "pick your battles" society, who wants to put themselves on the front lines for something so small as potato chips or being a few minutes late? But we're forgetting why it's important to do what we say we're going to do. It's not just for follow-through, or optics, it's to build trust. We want trust to be the foundation between brands and the people that choose to buy them. Trust to be the bedrock between a company and its employees. Trusting in yourself to do what you say you're going to do is incredibly empowering. It means you are the leader of your life, even if you're not the leader of your company. You can count on yourself to clean up whatever comes your way. Anyone who has seen Brene Brown's Netflix special knows that trust is built in all of the little moments. Plus, modeling the behavior we want is so much more effective than speaking it.

At a time when we want to relax, let everything go a bit, and let everyone (including ourselves) off the hook, it seems strange to think about accountability. And yet--if we don't slow down and hold ourselves accountable, we'll end up living life on autopilot. 


So--what do you really want next?

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