WHAT IS AN EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER?
An accountability partner is a gift. They are someone who holds a leader responsible for their decisions, behaviors, and commitments within an organization. This role is held by a person or peer outside the direct line of leadership.
A balance of challenge and support is essential. The partner should challenge the leader to step out of their comfort zone while offering support when needed. The partnership should be dynamic and focused on continual improvement. Adjustments and refinements should be made as needed.
An effective leadership accountability partner plays a crucial role in helping leaders keep in alignment and achieve their goals and improve their performance.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER
- Trust and Confidentiality: Trust is paramount in this relationship. Leaders need to trust their accountability partners to share sensitive information and vulnerabilities.
- Commitment and Responsibility: Keeping of an agreement to support and guide a leaders’ goals and development, while maintaining candor with integrity, appreciation, and humility.
- Conflict Resolution Skills: Accountability partners should have skills in conflict resolution to address any disputes or disagreements that may arise.
- Ethical Considerations: Ethical behavior and integrity are vital in this relationship, ensuring that leaders adhere to corporate values and principles.
SUPPORTING STRATEGIES FOR A LEADERSHIP ACCOUNTABIITY PARTNER
- Set Clear Goals and Expectations: The partnership should begin with clear, well-defined, and aligned goals and expectations. Both parties should have a shared understanding of what success looks like.
- Psychological Safety: Creating an environment of acceptance and safety allows leaders to be open, truthful, and forthright about their challenges and vulnerabilities without fear of retribution.
- Regular Check-Ins: The accountability partner should establish a regular schedule for check-in meetings. These can be weekly, monthly, or as needed – consistency is key.
- Feedback and Reflection: Accountability partners provide constructive feedback and feedforward to encourage leaders to reflect on their actions and decisions.
- Problem Solving: When issues or obstacles arise, an effective accountability partner helps the leader brainstorm solutions and navigate challenges. Also, utilizing feedback models like the “SBI” model (Situation-Behavior-Impact) can facilitate constructive feedback discussions.
- Data-driven Insights: Data and assessments can be shared by the leader with accountability partner to discuss objective insights into leaderships’ strengths, motivators, values, personality, and communication style, helping leaders make informed decisions.
- Documentation: Requiring, reviewing, and discussing documents that support progress over time (notes, feedback, commitments, and progress) can be valuable for tracking accountability over time.
Remember that an effective leadership accountability partner should tailor their approach to the specific needs and goals of the leader they are supporting.
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About the Author: Lori Harris is Co-Founder/Co-Owner and Managing Partner of Harris Whitesell Consulting. She is an experienced Talent Management Executive providing world-class service in Organizational & Culture Effectiveness| Talent Optimization| Organizational, Executive, Leadership & Team Development & Coaching | People Data Expert | Author, Speaker, and Thought Leader.
Harris Whitesell Consulting, LLC., is a human resources and talent management consulting firm headquartered in Wilmington, North Carolina. Our mission is to create valued partnerships based on trust, excellence, and impact – from assessment to action. We offer assessment, coaching, development, culture and engagement, change and transition, talent optimization, and customer strategy solutions. Our team of certified and highly qualified experts maximize organizational and leadership effectiveness and business success by working with people and businesses to accelerate value, optimize growth and opportunities for their leaders, teams, and organizational success! We maximize excellence!
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