[Alicia Davis] So we are finding that there is a really strong connection between when we want to hold people accountable and the fact that that often requires giving constructive feedback, and both of those things can be super hard, right, Stacie?
[Stacie Watson] You know, I think those two things are among the hardest skills that leaders have to develop because giving constructive feedback can be really uncomfortable, and when people aren’t accountable, it can be so problematic for a team, and so as the leader, your job is to try and address both of those things. And I think sometimes, when we think about accountability, we can sort of understand what’s missing. I think you were making this point when we were talking about this a little earlier, that it’s easy to focus on what’s missing. What is sometimes harder is to figure out what can I do about it to try and make it different or better. And having these hard conversations can be a big part of that.
[Alicia Davis] Yeah, and, you know, it also kind of ties into just having conversations in general, right? So you have clear expectations. We want to have established some way that we’re doing some kind of check-in, right? Is it five minutes every day? Is it 10 minutes once a week? Is it part of their supervision every other week? Like, what is the sequence of how we stay connected to people to help make sure that they’re on track, and then if we’re noticing things, or if things aren’t consistently getting done even after we really believe that we’ve been clear and we’ve checked that out with them. That’s when the challenging conversation has to happen, right? And how do we, how do we manage that Stacie?
[Stacie Watson] Well, I think, you know, we’ve talked about challenging conversations over the years a few times, and part of it is recognizing your own discomfort in the conversation. Just making sure that you’re doing whatever you can to sort of make yourself feel a little bit more ease, a little bit less anxiety, just to go into the conversation. And I think one thing you said, Alicia, is important to really reinforce, that when we’re having regular conversations with our team members, both positive feedback as well as constructive feedback. Just having a conversation is easier when we’re in the habit of providing progress reports and updates, and, you know, whatever may be going on, then when things aren’t going well, or when things are going well, everyone’s accustomed to having a conversation about it. And I think that can be a really powerful tool to have in your toolbox as a leader, and it’s one of the things we talk about in our accountability training session, right?
[Alicia Davis] We do! We’ve got a Creating a Culture of Accountability session coming up in our TLS Learning Academy on October 24th, and if accountability is something that is a little challenging for you, or if you feel like you know, some folks on your team could benefit from a little bit more support around that, we’d love to have you check it out. It’s academy.TLStransforms.com. And I’m Alicia Davis…
[Stacie Watson] I’m Stacie Watson…
[Alicia Davis] And we help nonprofits really build skills and people one skill at a time. So, thanks so much.
[Stacie Watson] Thank you.
