How to Build A Culture of Accountability around your Brand
When it comes to growing your brand and serving your customers, you need to be confident that things are getting done. If you don’t build a culture of accountability around your brand, holding those around you and yourself responsible for follow-through and execution, it will be the determining factor of whether your brand is around in five years.
Accountability requires a long-term approach. Without clear expectations- by making, keeping, following through, and following up on tasks- your business will never reach it's full potential and will most likely fail. Here are three keys to successfully implementing accountability around your brand:
1. Give Honest and Constructive Feedback
Giving feedback can often can feel uncomfortable, but it’s a crucial part of building accountability. A strong feedback culture welcomes feedback and uses it to foster the growth of individuals, teams, and the organization. In order for feedback to be effective, it needs to be specific, showing people where to focus their efforts in improving.
I get it, it may just be you right now in your business, and you're not paying those around you that are helping. This is the ultimate entrepreneurial dilemma, but even so, the people around you deserve honest feedback. Think about it this way, since you're not paying them, giving them honest and constructive feedback is something even more valuable.
2. Focus on Intended Results
It’s no secret that most strategic plans fail to deliver their intended results. Often, the problem isn’t the strategy, but how it’s implemented. When you're building a culture of accountability around your brand, you need to be able to clearly layout the vision. It's not enough to just have the vision, but you need to be able to thoroughly discuss each step and outcome, along with metrics. The most effective metrics to track intended results are KPI's.
(*KPI's are key performing indicator, which are used to help assess whether you're on target towards your goals.)
3. Take Ownership
In its simplest form, accountability means taking ownership. Ownership isn't assigned or given. Ownership is taken. Accountability is about getting the right stuff done when it needs to get done. No blame. No excuses.
Just think about it. What would your brand's performance be like if it was built around accountability? Without a doubt, your brand would be more efficient. That's the good news. The bad news is that too many entrepreneurs fall short of the commitment and execution needed to create a culture of ownership in their companies. As a result, those businesses tend to be unorganized, scattered, and are usually driven out of business because things aren't being delivered. Building a culture of accountability doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s worth the effort.
What does accountability look like for your business? What methods have you tried to keep others accountable?
Written by
