Accountability Training

Accountability is becoming increasingly important for leaders to manage teams in a complex, hybrid world of work. This training helps leaders establish a culture of accountability, build trust with their teams, and support the delegating of tasks with clear expectations. When leaders role model accountability and expect it from their teams, it helps with collaboration, problem solving and crucial conversations. This helps leaders develop greater influence so they can build high-performing teams who care about results.

Working with hybrid organisations across Australia, we know that skills like accountability are important to leaders and teams. Here are some reasons why:

1. Rise of ‘human skills’: More and more, organisations are helping employees develop both technical skills and soft skills. Leaders are engaging in more candid conversations about behaviour and accountability. Establishing clear expectations and guide rails will help leaders coach and give feedback to team members and manage conversations around behaviour. 
2. Technology and rise of AI: Advancements in technology and the way we work will automate more manual work, changing job roles and what organisations consider valuable. Leaders with a highly-developed sense of accountability, who step up when required and take responsibility, will become increasingly desirable. 
3. Complex world of work: Living in a ‘VUCA’ (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment means that leaders will need to give confidence and assurance to their teams constantly, without micromanaging. Accountability techniques help leaders present a clearer picture for their teams so they understand priorities and can self-manage their workflows. 
4. Role clarity: Because the lines are more blurred in modern workplaces, employees will continually need role clarity and tasks defined. Employee accountability training gives leaders an edge in dealing with conversations related to role clarity and finding agreement on tasks, so outcomes can be achieved. 
5. A ‘culture of busy’: Skills in accountability can help leaders establish their rights while respecting the rights of other parties, so they are not overburdened by tasks and responsibilities. A communication style that is more self-assured can help leaders manage issues like overwhelm and possible burnout.

Overall, skills in accountability can help leaders navigate these challenges and build trust with their teams, their superiors and business stakeholders. With Employee Accountability Training, coaching sessions, and support from peers, leaders can set expectations and hold people to tasks and responsibilities with greater ease.

With the help of an Accountability Training Program, skills that leaders can put in place to enhance performance include:

1. Communication: Leaders who focus on accountability set firm expectations and healthy boundaries with their direct reports. Leaders understand the kinds of communication styles people might use to avoid accountability and know how to manage them out of these behaviours to move them toward higher performance. 
2. Self-confidence: New situations, projects and ever-changing work environments call for strong accountability from leaders. They are better equipped to support team members when they can set up tasks clearly, articulate problems, and identify solutions. Leaders who can demonstrate personal accountability for their own actions, as well as the team’s results, can make a big difference to the self-confidence of their direct reports as well. 
3. Relationship management: Accountability involves the ability to recognise and regulate one’s own emotions and maintain healthy relationships with others. Leaders can improve this by engaging in positive body language and making eye contact, while they communicate their needs and expectations clearly. 
4. Perspective taking: Conflict can arise when there are different perspectives in the workplace, but leaders who are skilled in accountability and teamwork can navigate this. Leaders who stay calm and objective in situations and look for the ‘win-win’ have a greater impact on workplace culture and get results. 
5. Decision making: When leaders communicate decisions in a positive way while considering the rights of others, they get better buy-in. Leaders can build this capability by weighing up both positive and negative impacts of a decision and by being ‘clear but kind’. This is different from micromanaging, as it focuses more on ‘direction-setting’ – while still allowing direct reports to have autonomy in the ways they work.

By developing capability in accountability, leaders can grow their interpersonal skills and manage people, projects and performance with greater ease.

What is Accountability Training?

Our Accountability Training Sessions are specifically designed for leaders to boost self-esteem and develop skills in expectation-setting and management skills. It aims to provide participants with the strategies, tools and resources to apply their learning and lead with greater confidence. Our experienced facilitators have worked with many Australian leaders on professional development and accountability and will share case studies and stories to help your leaders.

Why should my organisation offer Accountability Training?

Being part of Accountability Training can help leaders become more confident, leading to enhanced rapport with their teams and greater job satisfaction. It can also help learners to break through barriers that might otherwise hold them back, such as having crucial conversations or establishing metrics with their teams. The workshop experience is designed to help leaders learn from each other and see how they might support each other to grow emotional intelligence and behaviours in accountability.

Who can attend Accountability Training?

Accountability Training is designed for leaders. The skills we focus on encourages clear and straightforward communication that helps them engage in expectation-setting, task-assignment and goal setting with their teams. However, this training can be easily customised for team members and middle to upper management as well.

Is Accountability Training only available in person?

We deliver a lot of in-person workshops but Accountability Training can be delivered in an in-person, virtual or hybrid format; depending on the organisation’s set-up. It is typically made up of strategies, discussions and a series of activities to support on the job application.

The training can be complemented with small group or one-on-one coaching sessions with a Thinka coach. Coaching plays an important role in challenging old behaviours and supporting leadership development in each of the participants. Organisations might also opt for a blended program that makes use of an online course and other forms of media as well.

Capability Development Workshops with Altogether Group

1. What was the objective?

Altogether Group were looking to run a selection of capability-building workshops across two streams; teams and leaders. The objective was to uplift human skills in critical areas across the business such as employee motivation, priority-setting, communication skills, and accountability.

2. How did we do it?

Thinka delivered ‘Set Priorities’ and ‘Master Communication’ to the team member audience across two deliveries of each skill, allowing a larger cohort to attend the workshops. ‘Drive Accountability’ and ‘Lift Motivation’ were delivered once to a smaller group of leaders within the business. Each workshop was a two-hour virtual delivery and included a range of engaging activities and self-assessment tools to embed the learning in the workplace.

3. How was it integrated and what were the results?

Participants left with the tools and knowledge they needed to improve in each capability area. Feedback from both cohorts indicated that participants felt stronger and better able to apply specific strategies to enhance work performance and build healthier relationships. This has had a positive impact on workplace culture and business results.