Effective leadership usually falls somewhere in a spectrum between the influence leader and the accountability leader.
The influence leader is one who will convince people to march with them. They excerpt control by getting people to do it with their intrinsic effort rather than through authority. Extreme influence leaders will often take the responsibility for things well outside their zone of responsibility to both good and bad outcomes. Relationships are at the core of what they do and excerpting authority is challenging because they tend to worry about the impact of their actions quite a lot.
The accountability leader is one who will expect authority based on title. They often use the objection that they cannot be accountable for results if they don’t have direct control. Extreme accountability leaders will ensure they, themselves, are always holding others accountable as a tactic to keep accountability away from themselves. Authority and title rule the day and relationships are less important than outcomes, look to these people to seek an image of flawlessness at all cost.
Using influence without accountability typically ends poorly. The leader who can wield influence well has to develop a wider range of skills because they don’t rely on edicts to get the job done, but what if the assignee simply says no? What if the influence leader can convince people to take it on but doesn’t hold timelines well or doesn’t hold people accountable to outcomes? Being influential is great, but if you influence people to get excited and have no follow-through in getting the job done then where are you, truly?
It’s not uncommon to see the influence leader be utterly unarmed if they need to hold someone accountable.
It doesn’t occur to them to take notes or set requirements until it’s too late.
Using accountability without influence usually doesn’t go too well either. The leader who rules with a stick or a bigger stick becomes untrusted outside their team (or, sometimes, even within their team). They create silos around the processes they control and if something is wrong or they get excluded, they look to their title as to why they should be involved without seeking why. Usually the response is either outrage or indifference and neither helps.
It’s not uncommon to see the accountability leader make business problems worse through their need to be directly involved.
It doesn’t occur to them to use human connection to understand why.
The goal should always be to balance yourself between the extremes, so I do that by playing to my inherent strengths (influence) while focusing on my weakness (accountability).
Leaders, first know thyselves. Think about the two extremes and be honest with yourself about who you are at your core.
Next, and this is important, challenge what you are doing on your weak side to see how you can strengthen yourself.
Influence leaders, build a process for accountability. I recommend learning about Quinton Studer’s HSL (High, Solid, Low) approach – it did wonders for me. Use this (or a like model) to set your expectations in a clear, concise way which is not unkind but also not confusing.
I tell influence leaders all the time to not make sandwiches. That means don’t give someone advice or improvement goals in the middle of compliments. Your audience will not hear you if you do that. I recommend a few positives before the improvements; end on the improvements and make them understandable, measurable, and deliver the expectation for immediate change.
You won’t like it, but that’s okay – it’s good for you.
Accountability leaders, when you encounter a barrier, consider getting close to your barrier and make friends. Build a relationship with the perceived problem rather than collecting evidence as to why it’s a problem.
This does not mean a meeting where you cite your roles and identify who is in charge of what, this means you understand the why behind the barrier and work to build trust by addressing that why. Behind anger is fear, behind fear is uncertainty. Find the uncertainty and build trust.
You won’t like it, but that’s ok – it’s good for you.
If you find you are smack dab in the middle, good on you!
If you find you are toward one extreme or the other, address it with intention and be the leader you know you can be.
Finally, I know it’s a weird time in the world and recently it’s gotten even more tenuous. Please take care of yourselves.