An ‘accountability conversation’ is about challenging people to take responsibility for something and holding them accountable. The ‘learnagrafic’ summary below outlines four steps involved in having an ‘accountability conversation’.

INTRODUCE AND FACILITATE THE SESSION

Introduce the session by sharing the learning objectives with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVES.

After displaying the slide, tell them that:

• Have you ever experienced a situation where people do not want to take accountability for something? It may be a task, project, or something else.
• When that happens, it will be necessary for the manager to have an ‘accountability conversation’ with one or more of the team members.
• In this session, we will discuss what an ‘accountability conversation’ is.
• We will also explore how to have an ‘accountability conversation’.
• Our goal is that by the end of this session, you will be able to describe what an ‘accountability conversation’ is.
• You will also be able to demonstrate the steps involved in having an ‘accountability conversation’.

After telling them that, move on to the next section for the participants to review the pre-reading they did before coming to the session.

In the next part of the session, participants will review their pre-session activity

INTRODUCTION

There are times when people in a team don’t want to take accountability for something. At times like that, the manager may need to have an ‘accountability conversation’ with the team member(s). In this session, participants will explore what an ‘accountability conversation’ is and how to have such a conversation.

DELIVERY MODE

Blended learning combining pre-session reading and virtual training.

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In the previous part of the session, we looked at the learning objectives for the course. In this part of the training session, we will explore the four steps involved in having an ‘accountability conversation’.

THE ‘UNACCOUNTABLE’ SITUATION

Tell the participants that:

• I want you to read about a situation called the ‘unaccountable situation.’

Direct them to the part of their workbooks titled – THE ‘UNACCOUNTABLE’ SITUATION.

WORKBOOK CONTENT – THE ‘UNACCOUNTABLE’ SITUATION

Tell them to go to that part of their workbook and read the information there. Give them 3-minutes for the reading.

After 3-minutes, stop them and get their attention.

Ask them this question – Is there anything related to accountability in that conversation that you just read.

Let them answer verbally.

They should indicate they want to answer the question either by using the virtual hand on the platform or by raising their hands physically.

Listen to as many of their answers as you can. If possible, listen to all of them.

When you finish listening to them, you should also contribute your own view by telling them that:

• There are some accountability issues in the conversation because Dennis is refusing to do anything beyond arranging the training course and showing up to deliver the training on the set date.
• Even though the training session was cancelled, and some have been cancelled in the past, he does not want to take any accountability for trying to improve the situation.
• He believes dealing with the cancellations is entirely up to the manager.
• But Daniella has some thoughts about Dennis’s behaviour on the issue.

Display the slide titled – DANIELLA’S THOUGHTS.

SLIDE – DANIELLA’S THOUGHTS

Allow them to read the information on the slide for about 20-seconds. After they’ve read it, tell them that:

• Those are Daniella’s thoughts, but she also speaks to one of her more senior colleagues who may have some advice for her on how to deal with the issue.
• Go to the part of your workbooks titled – WHAT WOULD YOU DO? There you can read the conversation between Daniella and her colleague, Basia.

WORKBOOK CONTENT – WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Give them 3-minutes to read the conversation between Daniella and Basis in their workbooks.

When they’ve finished reading it, let them know that you’ve got a chat window activity for them to do.

Ask them this question – Basia listed four things she would do if she had an accountability conversation with Dennis. What are the four things?

They should write their answers to the question in the chat window.

Give them up to 3-minutes to write down their answers. As they are writing, read through their answers quietly so you don’t distract anyone.

After 3-minutes stop and thank them for doing the activity. Let them know that you will now show them the four things and they can check whether they identified them correctly or not.

Share the slide titled – BASIA’S STEPS.

SLIDE – BASIA’S STEPS

After sharing the slide, tell them that:

• Basia’s approach to having an accountability conversation can be summarised into these four steps.

Click on the slide once to display some information and say that:

• The first step is – Where are we now?’
• This step is about getting to know what the current situation is.

Click on the slide to reveal more information and say that:

• The second step is – How did we get here?
• While the first step is about understanding what the situation is. This second step focuses on how the current situation arose. This step is particularly important if you don’t want the situation to occur again.

Click on the slide for a third time and say that:

• The third step is – What can we do?
• This step is about collaboratively coming up with a solution to the issue on ground to move forward.
• Be mindful that since this is a conversation about accountability you want the person to own the solution. It’s therefore much better if they come up with a solution, they are responsible for.

Click on the slide for a final time and say that:

• This final step follows on nicely from the previous one. It is – Who’s doing what – and by when?
• This is where you decide who’s going to do what from the solution agreed on. So, who is accountable for what aspect of the solution.
• At this stage you have to clearly spell out what the person is going to be accountable for and what you are accountable for.
• You also need to make sure you identify a clear deadline by when it should be done.
• This step is about making sure the person knows what they are accountable for.

Let them know that there is a short handout in their workbooks describing the four steps titled – FOUR STEPS FOR AN ACCOUNTABILITY CONVERSATION.

WORKBOOK CONTENT – FOUR STEPS FOR AN ACCOUNTABILITY CONVERSATION

After telling them that, ask if they have any comments or questions. Listen to any questions or comments they have and respond appropriately (if necessary).

Then move on to discuss, what an accountability conversation looks like.

In the next part of the session, the participants will explore what an accountability conversation looks like.

INTRODUCE AND FACILITATE THE SESSION

Introduce the session by sharing the learning objectives with them. Display the slide titled – LEARNING OBJECTIVES.

After displaying the slide, tell them that:

• Have you ever experienced a situation where people do not want to take accountability for something in a team?
• When that happens, it will be necessary for the manager to have an accountability conversation with one or more of her team members.
• In this session, we will discuss what an ‘accountability conversation’ is.
• We will also explore how to have an ‘accountability conversation’.
• Our goal is that by the end of this session, you will be able to describe what an accountability conversation is to someone.
• You will also be able to demonstrate the steps involved in having an ‘accountability conversation’.

After telling them that, move on to start by discussing the ‘unaccountable situation’ with them.

In the next post, the participants will start discussing what an ‘accountability conversation’ is.

INTRODUCTION

There are times when people in a team don’t want to take accountability for something. At such times the manager needs to have a conversation with his team to set things straight. In this session, participants will explore what an ‘accountability conversation’ is and how to have such a conversation.

DELIVERY MODE

Virtual (VILT)

DURATION (ESTIMATED)

3 hours

SUITABLE FOR

This is a full training session suitable for anyone who has responsibility for managing a team of people.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this activity, participants will be able to:

• describe what an ‘accountability conversation is, and

• demonstrate how to have an ‘accountability conversation’.

WORKBOOK

Yes (the participants must have the workbook before the activity starts)

PREPARATION

Make sure you read through all the resources, so you understand how they work together to deliver the session.

PREREQUISITES

Ideally, each participant should be responsible for managing a team.

The next post will focus on introducing the session’s learning objectives.