Page 119 - Fearless Leadership

106 FEARLESS LEADERSHIP

and speak against others, an idea, or a group, and you seldom hear peo-
ple speaking “for” something. All energy is focused on fighting a foe—real
or imaginary.
In a 50/50 environment, leaders expend a great deal of time refereeing
conflict between people competing for resources. Being the mediator or
arbiter in decision making and conflict resolution costs considerable time
and money. Nothing is easy, efficient, or fast, decisions are subpar, and
execution is inconsistent.

100% ACCOUNTABILITY: NO BLAME, NO SHAME
Owner mentality is based on taking 100% accountability and looking from
the enterprise perspective. But before we go any further, let’s distinguish
between accountability and responsibility.
You are responsible for the areas in which you are in charge, such as
fulfilling your job expectations. Accountability is a larger context, and it
is the choice to adopt an ownership mentality and think of the organiza-
tion as a whole, not as its parts. Although you may not be responsible for
another group’s results, as an owner, you take accountability for the orga-
nization’s results and what needs to happen. When you build a culture of
100% accountability, people shift from the automatic behavior of victim
mentality to being owners in how they act and engage.
A culture of 100% accountability unites people with a team-based mind-
set: all team members take accountability for business results and their
impact on people, even when others accept zero accountability. You
severely inhibit your ability to influence change when you expect others
to take accountability and restrict your choices based on what they do.
Using the model of 100% accountability, you can make things happen
even when others choose not to take action. This requires that you think
as an owner and focus your attention on what you can do, not on what
others should do.

100% Accountability
Being personally accountable for business results and your impact
on people, even when others accept zero accountability.