Accountability Dial
Accountability Dial
How to escalate accountability step by step
In any work environment, addressing unwanted behaviors quickly is vital. As leaders, we should act early to prevent these behaviors from becoming habits. The Accountability Dial offers a simple yet effective five-step guide to handle such situations.
What is the Accountability Dial?
The general idea is a five-step conversation guide:
The Mention
"Hey, I’ve noticed xxx. Everything okay?"
The Invitation
"I’ve noticed that xxx hasn’t changed. I think it’d be good to discuss this further."
The Conversation
“I want to understand if there’s an underlying reason or challenge you’re facing that might be causing this."
The Boundary
“Can we work on a plan to improve xxx and specify a date we should see this progress by?"
The Limit
“I hope you understand the seriousness of this issue and take the necessary steps to address it, or I will have to take counter-measures.”
You can read more details here.
Why I like the Accountability Dial
Flexible: You can adapt the wording to fit any situation.
Early Action: Start addressing issues before they escalate.
Less Confrontational: Not all issues require strong confrontation.
Positive Approach: Encourages problem-solving without blame.
In most cases, steps one and two are enough. Steps three to five are for more serious cases. The Accountability Dial is a user-friendly tool that fits well into daily conversations, making it perfect for addressing unwanted behaviors effectively.
What I read
As usual, I will list some of the best articles I read on the Internet. I will keep a list of the best articles (currently >800) at https://www.digital-product-management.com. These are today’s picks:
Communicating decisions is a nuanced business: How to act on decisions you are not comfortable with.
37signals Guide to Making Decisions: A rule set of how to make decision at the makers of Basecamp and Hey.
Transformed · Marty Cagan: A summary of the book.