Eliminating EXCUSES:
Being Accountable for
Your Own Success
A Requirement for
Life and Business Advancement
Natalie B. Bryant , M.A. – SOM Director of Practice Development
Accountability
O
To give an accounting of
– To answer for
Your choices
Your actions
Your outcomes
The Price Paid for a
Lack of Accountability
O Wasted time covering your tail
O Pointed fingers and blamed others
O Felt powerless and out of control
O Didn’t know what to do
O Wasn’t personally vested
O Ignored problems
O Waited too late to act
What percentage of
YOUR SUCCESS
is up to
YOU vs Outside Conditions?
OChoices
OActions/Behaviors
OOutcomes
85%
Good News…..
O Not just a Mind
Set
O Skill Set that can
be LEARNED!
Three Step Process
O Clarifying Responsibilities
O Taking the Initiative
O Owning the Outcome
Clarifying Responsibility
O Role
O Processes
O Check List
O WHO does WHAT?
O Overlap?
O Gaps?
Clarifying Responsibility
O Manage Expectations
Ask questions
Make agreements
Clarify everything
What's expected of everyone
including YOU!
Clarifying Responsibility
O Recognize YOUR AUTHORITY
Know your power
If you don’t take care of YOUR
responsibilities, someone else will.
Result – YOU are no longer
needed.
Giving that power away only
happens with your permission!
Taking the Initiative
O Self Empowerment
Take Actions/Risks for desired
outcome
Seek out available resources
Step outside your comfort zone
Find the motivation
Taking the Initiative
O Responsibilities
O Actions and Choices
O Goals and Outcomes
Set SMART Goals
O Specific
O Measurable
O Achievable
O Relevant
O Time - Bound
Taking the Initiative
O Control YOUR time
Set Goals – Make a plan
Track projects and deadlines
Resist over-scheduling
Estimate realistic time
commitments
“NO” is an empowering word
Owning the Outcome
O Police Yourself
Hold yourself accountable
Don’t depend on others to do it
Don’t blame others or make
excuses
Choose accountability, even if
not caught by others!
Owning the Outcome
O
Tell the Truth
Everyone messes up
To lie/cover up – makes it
worse
Honesty builds respect and
trust
Owning the Outcome
O When trouble arises, look at
YOURSELF first.
What is the problem?
What are YOU doing/not doing
that contributed to problem?
How can YOU solve the problem?
Learn from the Outcome
OBe Accountable for results!
 How will YOU handle failures
 Analyze the outcome
 Roses
 Blossoms
 Thorns
Do you have the COURAGE
to examine YOUR
PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY?
O Quantify your perceptions
O Quantify anonymously your
superiors, colleagues, and
subordinates perceptions
O How do they compare?
Benefits of Being
Accountable
O
O
O
O
O
O
Three Step Process
O Clarifying Responsibilities
O Taking the Initiative
O Owning the Outcome
Be SMART!
O Make the commitment
O Never require anyone else to
hold YOU accountable
O Take control of YOUR job and
YOUR life!
EXCUSES
Choose
to be
ACCOUNTABLE!
Bibliography & Suggested Reading
O Barron, G & Crenshaw , J. , Leadership Without Excuses: How to
Create Accountability and High-Performance; McGraw Hill
Publisher, 2012
O Connors, R., Hickman, C., Smith, Thomas & Tom,
The OZ
Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational
Accountability; Prentice Hall Press, October 1998.
O Galindo, Linda. The 85% Solution: How Personal Accountability
Guarantees Success – No Nonsense, No Excuses; Jossey Bass
Publications, October 2009.
O Samuel, Mark. Making Yourself Indispensable: The Power of
Personal Accountability ; Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated, April
2012