Accountability Means… Measure It!
Bottom line: If you can’t measure it, you can’t move it! Progress implies movement and that movement should be measureable. Whenever you set personal, team or organizational goals and objectives, you should strive mightily to be crystal clear about the results you expect to achieve. Once the desired results are clearly identified, you must measure progress toward those desired results on a regular basis. Sound too preachy or prescriptive? If we could say it stronger, we would. So, here’s another attempt: What gets measured, gets done. It is just that simple. Of course, progress toward some results is easier to measure than others – tracking hard results such as revenue or profit can be easier than tracking soft results such as customer satisfaction or employee engagement. Still, the principle applies, if you don’t measure it, you won’t improve it.
In our Accountability Training®, leadership development, and results achievement work with clients, we often deal with questions such as: “How do you measure accountability?” or “How do you measure alignment?” or “How do you measure commitment and engagement?” or “How do you measure empowerment?” or “How do you measure the culture stuff?” Measurement, done the right way, usually fosters accountability and helps us demonstrate more ownership and motivation for getting things done.
Here are some “Do’s and Don’ts” of measurement that facilitate greater accountability:
|1.||Do make the measurement transparent by going “public” with the progress report.|
|2.||Don’t forget that everything can be measured.|
|3.||Do involve the team in establishing meaningful measures they see as credible.|
|4.||Don’t ignore the warning signs that measurements can raise when progress is not apparent.|
|5.||Do celebrate progress when measurements show its happening.|
Remember, if you can’t measure it, you can’t move it.
For more information about how to create greater accountability for achieving results, go to www.ozprinciple.com.
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