Читать книгу Accountable Leaders - Vince Molinaro - Страница 16

Take some time to reflect on the four terms of the leadership contract. To what extent are you a truly accountable leader? Is your team as accountable as it can be? Does your organization have a culture that inspires others to step up and deliver results? If you are honest with yourself, like most leaders I work with, you will come to realize that there is an opportunity for you to be more accountable in your current role. That’s one lesson I learned in my own leadership roles. As accountable as I thought I may have been, if I were honest with myself, I could see more ways to step up and be even more accountable. Here’s something else I learned along the way: You can’t ask anyone else to be accountable if you are not accountable yourself. You must lead by example. Why? Because accountability breeds accountability. Let me repeat that: Accountability breeds accountability.

If you set the right tone, most everyone will follow. It’s like a ripple effect that can happen in a still pond. I’m sure you have experienced it. Once you touch the water with your finger or throw a pebble in it, you watch the ripples take form and expand throughout the entire pond. That’s how accountability works in organizations. If you step up, and others see you setting an example of accountability, you create a positive ripple effect that inspires and encourages others to also step up and be accountable.

However, a ripple effect can work the other way as well—mediocrity breeds mediocrity. When mediocrity ripples throughout an organization, then you have a problem. I believe we have too many people in leadership roles who seem to be fine with being just okay—average or mediocre at best. No human endeavor of any significance has ever been achieved with mediocrity. Extraordinary results—whether from an athlete, an artist, a surgeon, a manager, a teacher, or a CEO—are never achieved through mediocrity.

You have a choice. What will it be for you? Accountability or mediocrity? What ripple effect are you creating in your organization?