Sanity Notes #039: How and Why to Give Your Team Clear Accountabilities

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The gift of clarity

I grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, enjoying the huge rolling warm waves of August and adventuring over the frozen, snow-covered ice caps in winter. One of my favorite pastimes growing up was sailing. I would sail from early spring, when the lake thawed, deep into autumn, when I had to wear multiple layers and my fingers would come back blue.

My first job was managing a 55-foot racing sailboat. I was in charge of everything from rigging and mending sails to, sadly, one summer, refitting the boat’s sewer system. Perhaps my most disgusting experience to date.

From a young age, one of my favorite parts of sailing on big boats was that everyone had a job, and the jobs were clear. We would do multi-day races, racing twenty-four hours a day in whatever wind or weather showed up. That kind of adventure requires clarity, training, and exceptional communication among the crew.

As a coach, when I talk with startup CEOs, the topic of accountability often comes up. I often hear resistance to providing growing teams with clear roles and clear accountabilities. The founder in me understands that resistance. I remember believing that people came to startups for freedom, to do things their own way, to escape the oppressive rigor of large companies. I didn’t want to recreate that experience.

It took me several years as a CEO to realize that I was wrong. In hindsight, I should have known sooner, given my time on big sailboats.

When I look back on my earliest experiences racing on large crews, I remember that knowing my role, training for it, and being accountable for something specific was actually liberating. I felt important. I felt clear. I felt part of a team.

Had I not been told what I was responsible for, I imagine I would have felt out of place and awkward, especially if a storm hit at three in the morning. I might have even felt afraid or panicked.

These are the exact emotions I hear in 360 reviews when leadership hasn’t provided clear accountabilities for every team member.

We are tribal by nature. We want to understand our place and how we contribute to keeping the tribe safe and effective.

If this reflection resonates, it may be time to revisit the level of clarity you’re offering your team.

Some thoughts on tactics

If you haven’t formalized accountabilities, here’s a simple place to start. Open a Google Doc. List every role in the organization. Create a separate list of everything that needs to get done. Begin matching roles to the accountabilities that must be owned. Make sure every meaningful responsibility has a single owner, and that every person has a clear role with clear accountabilities beneath it.

My preference is to share this document transparently with the entire organization. When everyone knows who owns what, it supports open and honest conversations and makes handoffs, vacations, and growth far easier.

If you try something like this, I’d love to hear how it goes or learn what’s worked for you. And if I can be a partner along the way, please reach out. I’m here.

In the meantime, wishing you safety at sea.

-Matt

Looking for some support? If now is the time to consider coaching, reach out here.

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