ACCOUNTABILITY - THE BIG GUARDRAIL OF PERSONAL LEADERSHIP

Hello everyone, it’s Brian Bratti again with another installment of BIG Leadership. 

Initially, we looked at how not being intentional about Personal Leadership is a BIG mistake.  We then considered  how action was the BIG catalyst in Personal Leadership.  Next we’ll tackle the subject of Accountability – The BIG Guardrail of Personal Leadership.  I call Accountability a guardrail because I believe your Personal Leadership Growth Plan is like a road that is full of potholes (or gaps as we discussed earlier) and surrounded by ditches and ravines that are easy to veer off into as life throws its demands your way while you pursue your quest for self-improvement as a person and as a leader.  Thus, if you want to keep yourself from careening into a ditch or off a cliff from the road that will take you from where you are to where you want to go, getting involved in an accountability program is one of the best actions you can do for yourself in this regard. 

When we think of accountability we often harken back to the old fashion (and in my opinion completely outdated) yearly performance appraisal process with an employer.  To be quite frank, I’m surprised that employers still rely on this antiquated and generally ineffective tool to drive results and influence behavior.  It’s a process that can be can be perfunctory at best and unnecessarily painful at worst, often riddled with subjectivity, errors and documentation issues.  If an employer annual review is your idea of accountability, then I wouldn’t blame you for not embracing it as a means to help you grow.  But, I’ll leave the subject of improving that process for another day other than to say this is not what I’m suggesting when it comes to accountability in the personal growth context.  So if you are interested in looking at a more practical and user friendly mechanism for accountability, let’s take a look to see what other accountability possibilities you can consider to help you enhance your chances of staying on your personal growth road.

I believe accountability can come in one of two forms:  group and one-on-one and can be formal and informal.  Let’s take a look at the group model first:

Informal Study Groups 

Generally, groups of this nature take the form of people getting together for a common purpose like a church Bible study which can involve both men and women in the same group or be segregated by gender.  I am a big supporter of these groups as they help enrich us and others through shared learning, fellowship, receiving and giving varying opinions and insights, etc.  And, as a married Christian man, I have participated and continue to participate in both men’s and couple’s Bible study groups on a weekly basis.   While these experiences have been a huge blessing in my life, I find they do not by themselves offer the level of accountability needed for me to further my Personal Leadership Growth Plan to drive the positive results I seek.  The reason for this is, as a general rule, these kinds of groups normally have informal accountability among members at best.  The main goal of these groups is learning and socializing, not accountability necessarily.  Many times confidentiality among members of these informal groups is based on the Las Vegas model (what is said in the group stays in the group) rather than a formal written agreement.  Finally, these groups are often not professionally facilitated with the intention of solving particular problems, establishing definitive plans of action and milestones going forward or creating a vibrant system of accountability for change and results.  Thus, while these kinds of groups definitely fill a valuable need in all of our lives and I highly recommend them, relying on them as your guardrail can be a bit dubious at best.  However, if you find you need more fellowship, ideas and camaraderie with others who can give you some loose level of accountability, these might be a smart choice for you. 

Mastermind Groups (MMGs) or Master Classes

These groups offer more in the form of structure and are formed for a particular learning objective (For example, I lead an MMG  or Master Class that is centered on leadership and based on John Maxwell’s book “Leadership Gold”).  They normally have a definite beginning and end, the duration of which can be for as little as a few weeks or as long as a few months and usually meet for about an hour or so once a week.  Most MMGs/Master Classes are organized and facilitated by a professionally trained facilitator whose job is to keep the process productive and ensure the learning is not just for information but for application as well.  Confidentiality issues are usually handled Vegas style as well and the participants make personal obligations from what they learned from the material studied.  There is often encouragement for people to reach goals but goals are not formally tracked from meeting to meeting in most instances other than a general discussion among the group.  Thus, while these groups tend to have an increased level accountability over an informal Bible or book study, it is often limited to the time available for each member during the weekly sessions and when the group ends, the accountability usually ends. For those interested in pursuing this concept further, I offer some great mastermind group programs via the John Maxwell Team both in person and online.  See my website www.brattiadvisors.com for more details.  So, if you are hungry to learn and apply growth and leadership concepts to your life with a higher degree of accountability for results, MMGs/Master Classes might be the way to go for you.

Formal Peer Advisory Groups or Boards (PABs)

I call these kinds of groups the graduate school of accountability in a group setting because their main objective is not just learning but, more importantly, application and accountability for professional and organizational growth and solutions to particular problems.  Unlike MMGs/Master Classes, PABs normally meet monthly for either half a day or a whole day or weekly for an hour and a half (I call these my BIG Leader GPS – Group Power Sessions).  These are designed to continue meeting for as long as the members desire with many groups of this nature meeting for many years, growing and holding each other accountable for results.  Like MMGs/Master Classes, they are often facilitated by a professionally trained facilitator but follow a more rigorous and defined meeting agenda.  Unlike MMGs/Master Classes, they normally require a signed confidentiality agreement because the nature of the subject matter that could be discussed (such as corporate financials, etc.).  There are a number of PAB programs out there, most of which involve CEOs/Business Owners & Senior Executives who are taken out of their businesses once a month so they can work on their businesses with other like-minded business leaders.  It is a sort of hands on MBA application program designed to to provide not only applicable leadership training but also provide a sort of Board of Directors or Peers that help each other solve pressing business problems.  Key to this process is the leader deciding from among the suggestions provided by his or her peers, a course of action the progress on which s/he will report to his or her “Board” in the following and subsequent months.  Thus, while business learning and training is an integral part of the experience, the accountability of following up on next steps is likewise crucial.  There are also secular forms of this model, all of which help leaders in critical positions of authority navigate their businesses without feeling they have to “go it alone.”  If you are a senior business leader with the title of CEO, Business Owner or Senior Executive and are interested in being part of a group of 8-12 similar non-competing business leaders to help you take your personal leadership and organization to the next level, then a Peer Advisor Board may be something for you.  Check out my website at www.brattiadvisors.com for more details how you can take advantage of this amazing tool available for your Personal Leadership.

Executive/Leadership Coaching

Now all of the above programs offer tremendous personal growth opportunities and I highly recommend you consider exploring each one for yourself.  As indicated, each has varying levels of accountability and all serve a great purpose in our lives.  However, I strongly believe if you really want to increase your chances of accountability and take your Personal Leadership Growth Plan to the next level, a formal Executive/Leadership coaching arrangement cannot be beat.  In a formal coaching relationship, the sessions are all about you and your personal/professional growth needs.  But, unlike athletic coaching, you are not “taught” or “trained” in the classical sense (remove the picture of a barking, yelling, drill-instructor type football coach from your thinking).  Rather, you are coached to think for yourself, look for answers inside yourself and come up with solutions and accountabilities that only you can provide with the help of a dedicated and professionally trained coach who is only focused on one thing – you.  While group coaching and the others mentioned above can provide varying levels of accountability, you are still sharing a resource for this purpose and thus your results will be limited to what that resource is able to provide to the group as a whole.  In a personal coaching format, all the focus is on you, your goals, your aspirations and your agenda.  It is similar to having private golf lessons vs. group golf lessons with the major difference being that you are not being “taught how to” do what is you want to do but are encouraged to think for yourself and explore the resources already inside you for taking your game to the next level.  Moreover, if you are simultaneously part of a MMG/Master Class or PAB and in a formal coaching relationship with a professionally trained coach, you get the double benefit of receiving sound training and advice from others along with the assistance of a coach to help you sort out where it all fits into your growth and plans.  So, if you want to ratchet up your accountability to the highest level, consider engaging an Executive/Leadership coach to help you grow in your Personal Leadership. 

That’s about all I have for now on accountability.  While certainly not exhaustive, these are some of the many options available for you to keep yourself safely on the road to Personal Leadership by avoiding potholes/gaps and steering clear of ditches and ravines awaiting you when you face the inevitable curves and bends that comprise every personal growth road.  At Bratti Innovation Group (BIG) we offer Mastermind Groups/Master Classes, Executive Coaching and CEO/Business Owner Peer Advisory Board Programs to help you establish accountability guardrails as you navigate this terrain.  Again, check us out at www.brattiadvisors.com for more details. 

Thanks again and I look forward to spending time with you next time.