We assume people should "just know." What good work looks like. What we meant. What ex expected. And when they miss the mark, we get frustrated.
We've learned that most of the time, it's not a performance issue. It's a clarity issue.
Someone doesn't follow through the way we expected, and we feel frustrated. Then we pause and realize... We never actually said what "done" looked like. We just assumed they knew.
On our team, we use language from Dare to Lead, grounded in the research of Dr. Brené Brown. We call it "paint done."
When we're making a request, we pause and ask: Have we actually painted the picture of what "done" looks like? Not loosely. Not generally. Very clearly.
We might paint done by answering questions like:
- What does success look like?
- What matters most?
- What does great look like?
This practice alone has saved us from unnecessary misunderstandings.
But clarity is just one part of accountability.
In our book, Leading the Culture Journey, we introduce a simple framework called the Four Cs of Accountability. These four Cs have completely changed how we think about accountability.
Read the full article on LinkedIn to learn the Four Cs of Accountability
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PLAY HOW TO HANDLE ACCOUNTABILITY CHALLENGES
This video explores practical ways to address accountability issues while strengthening trust and ownership across your team.
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