That might come off as harsh. But a recent conversation with that CEO underscores what many leaders believe and have been saying for some time now: Do your job and show me the results.

Which brings to mind Elon Musk’s missive to his AI company workers, giving them 48 hours to list their accomplishments. It is perhaps the most visible example of this philosophy. While Musk’s approach was questionable, he was not entirely wrong about insisting on accountability. He gets results at Tesla and Space X and while such an approach may achieve bursts of creativity and accomplishment, it can create a pretty hostile work environment.

But accountability is a core tenet of the workplace. The question is how to get that message across without being perceived as a bully.

Being adaptable while demanding

Every worker has a different style. And as a leader, it’s important to be adaptable and meet individuals where they are. In this case, one size fits one.  

Adopting a singular leadership style with no flexibility for the person sitting across the table from you not only fails that individual but fails the people to whom a leader reports.

So, any leader reduced to asking for a list of recent accomplishments from workers needs to ask himself or herself some hard questions:

• Could employee accomplishments have been so unimpactful for the past month that nobody noticed or celebrated meaningful achievement in real-time?
• Is there anyone in the company looking at metrics, providing coaching, or having regular conversations around expectations and productivity?
• What can you do with a list like that on a one-time basis, really? How will a subjective list provide any insight into sustainable, scalable performance?

Being heavy-handed in this manner to gain insight, provide support, motivation or empowerment is one thing. As Ted Lasso, ostensibly quoting Walt Whitman, would say, “Be curious, not judgmental.” Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case here. What Musk did comes across as threatening, punitive – and blaming. And it doesn’t have to be that way.

A different path

Leaders can achieve the same results with a more engaged and supportive approach:

• Focus on outcomes and activities: it’s critical to create a culture where outcomes are measured and activities are evaluated. There is a nuance. In sales, the outcomes at the end of a quarter (accomplishments, in this scenario) are easily quantifiable and can be measured. Product sold, revenue gained, and average deal size are logged. Regardless of results, it’s key to establish a culture where activities are evaluated. Leaders need to see the raw data: the phone calls/emails to build the pipeline, successful sales messaging, and challenges. This helps to remove fear and creates expectations that increases productivity without punishing underperformance
• Celebrate wins along the way: if a leader asks for a list of achievements, they are not a good leader. Or they don’t have good leaders working under them. Managers need to communicate staff achievements to leadership. Celebrate your staff and the work that they do on an ongoing basis. The late General Electric boss Jack Welch was a master at advocating for his leaders to salute the wins. Human beings like to be recognised, and it means something when the boss (or the boss’s boss) knows about and celebrates your achievements
• Understand the skills gaps: instead of reprimanding workers, leaders must provide support for those with skills challenges. There are numerous platforms and services to assess department- and organisation-wide skill gaps and provide cost-effective solutions. Whether it’s soft skills in leadership, project management and public speaking, or targeted technical training for a specific department, it’s important to know the strengths and weaknesses of your teams

Ultimately, this is about leaders investing time and energy in their staff and knowing in real time what they are doing and what they are accomplishing. Do that well and there is no need for intimidating fire drills to help the boss understand what he or she should have known already.

Workers don’t mind being held accountable. They just want it to be a two-way street.  

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