Managing in the Age of Uncertainty
Accountability
Contrary to popular thinking, the best people want to own their work.
Without accountability, no one gets ahead.
That’s why former Cisco CEO and my boss John Chambers would always say: “I never get hard work confused with results.”
Millennials and gen-z know they can’t count on the corporate ladder; they’re looking for managers who can make things happen for them, managers who follow through on their word and get their top people recognized. Remember, my research showed the next-gen want to work for a manager who is engaged in their career success more than anything else.
That’s why the best of the next generation want to work for managers who are consistently accountable to what’s on their operational dashboard. Consistently accountable managers don’t get lucky. People become managers because they make good decisions about how to execute their work. Top 10% managers are world-class at setting the parameters of accountability: a team’s priorities, goals and metrics — the stuff that drives operational performance.
Your consistent success managing a “box” of responsibilities is exactly what your people want you to teach them. Your people want to learn how to be accountable.
This issue of Managing in the Age of Uncertainty is focused on what accountability means to the next generation of talent.
As you read about accountability, think about yourself. Are you consistently accountable? What would your people say about you? Do you hold others accountable? Can you tell a story about yourself and a pivotal moment in your career where accountability was your friend (or not)?
Why Accountability Matters to People
The best people want to own their work because it puts their name to a set of responsibilities on your dashboard. They know owning something on your dashboard is an opportunity to be recognized, if they exceed expectations.
Owning a set of responsibilities also gives people a chance to do things their way —just like you wanted to when you were an individual contributor. The most talented people believe in themselves. Keep in mind, if people can hold their “box” of responsibilities in their hands, they can imagine ways to do things better or more productively.
The best people know accountability paves the road forward in their careers. They are looking for opportunities to take risks, innovate and stand out — and want to work for a manager who will give them that opportunity.
What Expectations People Have for a Manager
Boomers were awful at accountability because of a generation of inconsistency; it’s why passive-aggressive behaviors defined the boomer era.
On the other hand, the most talented millennials and gen-z crave accountability. The best of the next generation know being held responsible for results is the key to rewards and recognition — and getting ahead in a world where so much is uncertain.
Here is what you need to teach your people: accountability is an informed behavior. It doesn’t require some kind of “courage gene”. Accountability has nothing to do with “telling it like it is” or “being direct.” Those are just other forms of being passive-aggressive.
As a manager, it is your responsibility to take the human emotion out of accountability. It’s your job to teach the team about consistently setting priorities, goals and metrics — the guard rails of accountability.
How It Helps Connect Career Dots in the Age of Uncertainty
Being able to align a job role to your priorities, goals and metrics is the foundation of accountability. Someone’s work can only recognized if it easily lives on your dashboard clearly.
The key to standing out on a dashboard are facts. In the end, a single taxonomy of metrics sets up what employees really want. Your best people want to own their work; they want to be accountable. But to be accountable, everyone on the team needs to be able to communicate from the same set of facts. A common set of facts allows people to see their “box” on your dashboard, and how well they are performing compared to their peers. No more secrets.
Of course, you have to be consistent with facts. I know I always wasn’t, and I only improved as a manager when I got feedback about it. Ask your trusted advisors how consistent you are with facts and data when managing your team.
In the long run, beyond this chapter of their careers on your team, stories of accountability empower your people to “show up” in future job opportunities.
So here is a homework assignment: help your people create personal stories of accountability. Help your best people shine on your dashboard. Give them the opportunity to showcase their work in your next operations review or Monday morning commit meeting. Years from now, you people will be quoting these stories in future job interviews.
And, they’ll be telling their friends and colleagues about you.
Manager Thought of the Week
“I got your back.”
What friend and NYT best-selling author Keith Ferrazzi told me when I asked him the most important message a manager can send to their team. Never Lead Alone is a gem of a book about ‘teamship.’
In Summary: Principles of Managing in the Age of Uncertainty
I left Cisco to answer this question with research and evidence: What does the manager of the future look like? What are millennials and gen-z seeking in a manager? Which behaviors, tactics, skills or processes matter? What’s it going to take to attract and keep the best people over the next decade?
Based on this research, the core philosophy of this newsletter is rooted in one idea: successful managers in this moment in time, for this generation of talent, need to be “career dot-connectors.” The next-gen doesn’t expect to spend their entire career on your team — that’s an idea boomers grew up with. A job on your team is like a chapter in a career story to the current generation. If you want the best people on your team, you have to connect the dots between roles on the team and the career opportunities of the people working on the team.
What is the“Age of Uncertainty”? If the industrial age was about taking predictable steps up the ladder, the age of uncertainty is about finding or discovering the path of a career without any predictable steps, without an obvious ladder — it’s why being a career dot-connector will differentiate you as a manager.
How to be a Great Manager in the Age of Uncertainty: Be a Career Dot Connector is available on Amazon.
What kind of manager are you? Take my free self-assessment and learn about yourself.