Leadership Coach As Accountability Buddy
Sometimes the best coach for you is one that doesn’t mind becoming a pain in the neck.
Most leaders have coaches that help them to identify blind spots, improve their self-talk, and serve as objective sounding boards perfect for bouncing around the pros and cons of tricky workplace situations.
But, did you know that you can also use your coach as an accountability buddy, too? If you’re not familiar with the term, an accountability buddy is someone that can count on to remind you to do the things that you find difficult, or you are otherwise reluctant to do.
Many of my clients appreciate having the option to use me in this way.
Here are some of the ways that I have been an accountability buddy to my clients. I thought I would share them here to give you an idea about how I (or your favorite coach) may be of further assistance to you on your journey of becoming an exceptional leader:
1. Reiterate the company vision through stories and the written word on a weekly basis. The more you help staff better understand how their achievements lead to a greater good, the higher the likelihood that you can inspire their best effort.
2. Lead by example, not by pontificating, every chance you get. Your people do the things that they see you do. If you’re transparent in your communications, for example, they’ll learn that “truth telling” is the only way to behave at work.
3. Promote work-life integration because burned-out employees fail to deliver.
4. Inspire collaboration. Show your people that working together gets more done.
5. Address conflict before it festers. This is the number 1 way that you can enhance the performance and morale of your team.
6. Encourage the voicing of dissenting opinions. This enables empowerment and unleashing unbridled creativity. Leaders that don’t create the psychological safety needed for their team members to express a differing point of view limit their team’s ability to land on the best solution to today’s more prevalent business challenges.
7. Manage the tough personalities. Difficult personalities exhibit behaviors that wreak havoc on an organization. It is the leader’s job to correct these behaviors for the good of their teams.
8. Demonstrate an “outside-in perspective” in all of your communications regarding the customer and strategy. This behavior encourages your team to re-imagine how things are and experience their businesses from a customer and stakeholder perspective, which enables them to identify opportunities for change.
9. Focus on results and recognize success. This reminder is about setting proper goals, monitoring progress or recognizing staffers whenever they exceed expectations.
10. Share the wealth. Feature your people’s accomplishments, and appreciate how their effort made the difference between achievement and failure.
I could easily share dozens of more ways that I have been an accountability buddy to my clients.
To close, I hope that these examples stimulate your thinking about how a coach can help you to become the leader you are meant to be.
With that, I ask you to reach out to me directly with any questions.