Accountability Based Coaching

The purpose of Accountability Based Coaching is to assist individuals in improving their performance, communication and/or leadership. The role of the coach is to first assess the individual's strengths, as well as potential areas of improvement and subsequently assist that person in developing new skills, attitudes and behaviors resulting in significant performance improvement results.

In Accountability Based Coaching we use an "inner-outer" approach. The philosophy is simple. If we make outer changes in behavior, attitude, performance or communication and haven't made the "inner changes" to support those "outer" changes, then we won't be able to sustain the improvement. Conversely, if appropriate "inner changes" are targeted and achieved, "outer" changes occur more rapidly and tend to be much more easily sustained.

What are "inner" changes? They represent the transformation of our mindset or beliefs regarding how we see the world around us and/or how we see ourselves in the world around us. It is easy to teach someone strategic planning, conflict resolution, communication skills, etc. However, if a person is partially driven by fears of not being accepted or a need for control -- as examples -- they may never be able to employ those skills effectively or in a way that sustains success.

While many coaching models are based on a six-month schedule, it is the goal of Accountability Based Coaching to demonstrate significant results within the first three months of coaching. Improvements are then reinforced and deepened during the following three months.

A Typical Case Study

Tom was an executive managing twelve people in a division of a large corporation. His subordinates complained that he was a micro-manager who kept hoarded information secretively rather than sharing openly. When a problem surfaced, he would delegate tasks to a number of individuals in an attempt to resolve the issue. The people that worked for him said he was friendly enough on the surface, but behind closed doors, no performance was ever deemed good enough. When it came to corporate change efforts, Tom generally took the position of his division and resisted change. In that regard, he was supported by his team within the division.

According to corporate executives, Tom was knowledgeable, smart and effective at creating a level of loyalty among his team. However, he was viewed as being weak strategically. He also frequently complained about change efforts coming from corporate as well as sending issues "upward" to be solved by corporate rather than taking the initiative to find his own solutions. Additionally, Tom was not perceived as an inspirational leader and it was felt he needed better communication skills.

Six Steps to Effective "Inner-Outer" Coaching — An Application

The following six steps outline the application of Accountability Based Coaching:

Step 1: Assessment
Step 2: Personal Vision of Leadership
Step 3: Identifying Organizational Goals and Issues for Resolution
Step 4: Gaining Alignment with Upper Management
Step 5: Developing Leadership Strategies and Skills
Step 6: Evaluation, Reinforcement and Fine-Tuning

Step 1: Assessment
Like most coaching processes, Accountability Based Coaching begins with a complete assessment. Individuals rarely have a complete picture of their influence on others, so it is critical to get an honest and complete assessment of their impact from as many different perspectives as possible. While not focusing on styles inventories or personality assessments, an accountability based approach focuses on two kinds of information. The first data collection represents the impact and perception of direct reports and peers as well as upper management. This includes a self-assessment, measuring the level of self-awareness of the individual. The second informational set represents the individual's impact on organizational performance, including planning and executing change, developing future leaders, resolving issues in an effective manner (including others appropriately) and achieving business goals.

In the case of Tom, all the data collected validated the information described in the scenario above. Tom had reasonably good self-awareness of the problem, but saw himself as only part of the problem. From his perspective, most of the problem stemmed from unrealistic expectations from corporate and a staff that was not self-motivated and would not take initiative.

Step 2: Personal Vision of Leadership
This is a critical step in an "inner-outer" approach to coaching. We all have a picture inside of us that represents our view of the world around us and our role in that world. While some of the aspects of our view may be accurate, it often incorporates and reflects our own limiting beliefs, fears and personal constraints. When an individual develops his or her own personal vision of leadership they describe in detail how they want to be perceived by upper management, direct reports and co-workers. They also identify their role(s) in achieving the various goals of the organization. Accountability Based Coaching asks: "How would you be leading in order to achieve the goals and changes needed by the organization?" Answering this question brings context to an individual's vision in light of their role(s) in the organization as well as the needs of the organization.

In Tom's case, it was clear from his first draft of the vision, that he had no clear picture of success as a leader. Most of his description was an articulation of goals given to him by upper management without any sense of his role in accomplishing this vision. He was asked to rewrite his vision, putting in more effort to describe his role of leadership in accomplishing those goals.

The second draft of his vision was both revealing and frightening. Now, his vision was about being liked by his direct reports, and -- sadly -- being a "victim" to upper management in corporate. It was clear from his "picture of success" why his results as a leader were less than stellar. Unless his fears, disempowerment and victimization were addressed there could be no amount of skill building that would overcome his deeply rooted negative beliefs about himself and others. Tom's comment to me after reading his vision was, "I am sounding like a whiner." It was good news that he did have that level of self-awareness.

A key in Accountability Based Coaching is always to give the individual the choice as to making changes or remaining the same. In Tom's case, he was offered different perspectives, beliefs and ways of approaching his role. His fears and limiting beliefs were challenged and new alternatives for viewing his role as empowered and accountable were offered. Based on those new perspectives he made choices about what he could or could not accept.

Tom created a third draft of his Vision of Leadership, this time integrating his new beliefs and perspectives into his picture of success. What a difference! It sounded like a completely different person. While there were areas of his vision that represented his old beliefs and perspectives that needed further refining, most of his picture of success represented a person who was empowered, taking full accountability, developing others without fear of losing control and achieving results.

From this "inner" clarity, we could now begin to address his "outer" skills that needed further development.

Step 3: Identifying Organizational Goals and Issues for Resolution
In Accountability Based Coaching, we rarely develop skills for the sake of skill-building. We are focused on achieving business results and surfacing the skills necessary for successfully achieving those business results.

Tom was asked to identify the top priorities of his division along with the major challenges facing his division in accomplishing those business priorities. He not only identified each one, but also provided a clear picture of what success would look like for every goal and the resolution of all the foreseeable imbedded challenges.

Tom used his Vision of Leadership as a basis for describing how he would attain each goal and how he could resolve each issue. Again, this process took several drafts, because the first draft typically represented his old mindset of leadership (the only way he knew how to lead). With some coaching, Tom could see the disconnections between his new Vision of Leadership and how he described his execution as a leader. He was introduced to new methods of leadership which included team leadership, facilitation of problem resolution, effective information sharing and using the expertise contained in the corporate office more effectively.

His final draft represented an approach to leadership as well as for attaining organizational goals and resolving issues never previously witnessed by his division.

Step 4: Gaining Alignment with Upper Management
One of the challenges of Accountability Based Coaching is to change the perception of others regarding the executive being coached. People working with the executive being coached have a history with that person, which includes beliefs and expectations, which can be difficult to change. Therefore, it is critical to modify those beliefs or they may treat the person as if they haven't transformed, and thus limit the effectiveness of the coaching as well as business results.

The fourth step of alignment has three purposes:

• First, make sure that the leader being coached has identified the appropriate role for themselves relative to everyone else they impact (The Vision of Leadership).
• Second, make sure that the priorities and challenges along with the picture of success in those areas are in alignment with what management is looking for.
• Third, begin presenting the "new transformed leader" and make sure that this is what those working with this person want from a leader.

When Tom presented his Vision of Leadership and his identification of priorities and challenges to be overcome along with his approach for doing so, upper management was pleasantly surprised. According to upper management, Tom provided a picture of leadership they have never witnessed from him, even though they had given him feedback which never seemed to be heard. While very much encouraged, they now wanted to see what would happen during execution. Minds were now open to the possibility that Tom could change, and for the first time, Tom received positive feedback in a meeting with upper management.

Step 5: Developing Leadership Strategies and Skills
One of the challenges in providing skills early in the process of coaching is the limitations of the person's mindset or consciousness. Due to fears and limiting beliefs, individuals may not be able to effectively apply a particular skill set. In Accountability Based Coaching we expand the person's mindset first and then provide skills which support the new mindset.

Based on the priority of goals and challenges, appropriate strategies and skills were identified to execute the plan Tom shared with upper management. This included meeting facilitation skills, group problem solving and decision making skills, project planning, information sharing strategies and communication skills. By providing these skills at this point in the process, it was easy for Tom to integrate the new skill sets since he already had the foundation for each skill firmly planted in his picture of success. As he implemented these new skills he found them more and more natural to his new view of the world and his role in his world. As anticipated, the first month of execution required significant course correction, and the second month went much more smoothly. By the third month, Tom had incorporated the new skills with his new mindset, proactively taking leadership accountability as part of his transformed role as a leader. Tom was a new person, delighted in his new image of himself as well as his impact on others.

Step 6: Evaluation, Reinforcement and Fine-Tuning
Six months after beginning the "inner-outer" transformation, it is important for the recipient to receive feedback in a formal manner comparing his current impact to the initial assessment. Based on the perception of others and the personal and professional results that the person has achieved, it can be determined if the coaching was effective for the individual in a way that can be sustained.

In Tom's case, it was clear from the perspectives of all involved that he was demonstrating transformation as a leader. He was now being included in corporate task forces more often and had time to participate since his direct reports were taking on more of a leadership role. His organization's performance improved, raising levels of efficiency and effectiveness, lowering costs and measurably increasing levels of quality and customer satisfaction.

Summary
Accountability Based Coaching is less about learning new skills in order to achieve performance goals and more about "embodying" a transformed role as a leader who achieves goals consistently and sustainably. The "inner-outer" approach described in this article is designed to achieve this outcome.

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