ACTION: For each key process you’ve identified, decide who within the organization will be accountable. These people are then accountable to the head of operations.

4. Every facet of the organization has a person assigned with accountability for ensuring goals are met.

• The Function Accountability Chart (FACe) is completed (right people, doing the right things, right).

• Financial statements have a person assigned to each line item.

• Each of the 4-9 processes on the Process Accountability Chart (PACe) has someone that is accountable for them.

• Each 3-5 year Key rust/Capability has a corresponding expert on the Advisory Board if internal expertise doesn’t exist.

I got a lot of resistance initially,” Pressler recalls. “People asked, ‘How am I to be held accountable for something I don’t control?’” Pressler’s response: “You do. We’re a team, sharing responsibility and accountability for what’s best for our brands and for our company. We will set our agenda and determine our priorities together.” The result: “We still had to learn how to work effectively as a team, but this helped us begin to change our thinking and our actions.

A leader’s responsibility is to identify the strengths of the people on their team, no matter how buried those strengths might be. I thought about that often when I was sitting down with the new team at EMP. It was tempting to weed out everyone who had a reputation as a less-than-stellar employee; eventually, some folks would need to be managed out. But first, I needed to make sure a hidden capability wasn’t lurking behind someone’s subpar performance.

2.1. Self-accountability

People who lack self-accountability tend to run on autopilot. This is the exact opposite of commanding your own life. These people constantly succumb to external pressure: seeking rewards, avoiding punishments, and measuring themselves against other people’s scoreboards. They’re followers, not leaders. They don’t take responsibility for their mistakes. Instead, they always try to blame other people, circumstances, or bad luck— nothing’s ever their fault.

Well, I have news for you. It’s all your fault.

There is always something you can do in the moment today to better your position tomorrow. You might not be able to solve the problem, but your next action will make the situation better or worse. There us always an action you can control, however tiny, that helps you achieve progress.