When we speak about accountability it is to take responsibility for one's actions. In my book, Behavior Change...A View From the Inside Out, I talk about four principles of Creating Lasting Change.
Awareness and acceptance are the first steps to creating lasting change,
Understanding what holds habitual behavior in place is key to doing things differently,
Improvement is making new choices and replacing the old patterns with more effective ones,
Reinforcement emphasizes that practice with feedback brings improvement.
Last night, in his address to the US Congress, President Barack Obama said in regard to the economic crisis, "It's only by understanding how we've arrived at this moment will we be able to lift ourselves out of this predicament." This is an excellent example of how a world leader is asking us to help make the changes we need, by being accountable for the situation we find ourselves in. With out this step, we will simply repeat the behavior that got us here.
Subscribe To Hank Fieger Blog
Posts
Comments
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In asking people to make changes, it is important that leaders act as role models. This was reinforced today while I was speaking to an online group regarding leading in difficult times a participant stated how difficult it was as a leader to respond to employees in need of reassurance. They mentioned that employees hold leaders accountable for knowing what the future holds and what to do. The reality is that leaders don't always know what to do and are struggling with the changes as well.
ReplyDeleteTo build accountability I agree that It is important for leaders to create an environment that invites others to participate in creating solutions as Obama did. Accountability is something that must be shared provided people are aware of the possibility, understand how they can participate by improving how they behave and recive reinforcement from their leader.