Alan Dobzinski
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Accountability Expert
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Accountability: Lessons From a Baseball Coach
I don't remember his real name but I do remember that he had a big laugh and a huge passion for baseball and for kids. Maybe he was a house painter, or a plumber, or a bus driver. I don't know what he did when he wasn't with us. All I knew - and all I cared about - was that when someone asked for a volunteer to coach a group of eight year old boys, a big man with a big laugh stepped forward. We called him Mr. G. Mr. G. inspired me. He was the kind of person who would have made a great managing partner or CEO.
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Personal Questions Lead to Professional Success
When you're holding regular accountability meetings with your people, it's natural for personal issues to come up. If you're still stuck in "leave your personal life at the door," thinking, get over it - that's old school, and will keep you stuck where you are now. If you want better results, face the fact that personal and professional issues are bound to intermingle at work, and taking care of the personal stuff WILL take care of the business stuff.
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Are You Prepared for a Blowout on the Bike Trail
A few weeks ago, a friend and I were biking on a trail. Beautiful day, great ride, and then all of a sudde I heard this huge “pop!” - it sounded like a gun going off! Now, I’ve been biking trails for 15 years and I’ve never had a flat tire, never mind a blowout. I had no idea what it would sound like, but that’s exactly what it was. Thankfully, I knew the trail well, and was able to borrow my friend’s bike, ride back to the car, and bring the car back to pick her up. But it got me thinking, what if? What if I’d been alone? What if I’d forgotten my cell phone?r
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Step Away From It All and Watch What Happens
In my last article, "Have You Uncovered Your Theme for 2013?" I gave you six steps you can take to uncover your theme for the year ahead. You can take these steps as an individual and also as a company or team. Let me tell you about something very powerful that happened to me just a few weeks ago, while creating my own theme for 2013.
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Kindness Works. Caring Pays Off. Love Becomes Profitable.
What's the opposite of command and control leadership? Caring. We're talking about simple human caring, and it's something all your people need if they're going to achieve the goals you want them to achieve. In a Fast Company article ("The CEO's New Clothes"), Linda Tischler maintains that Morgan Stanley's Philip Purcell, Hewlett-Packard's Carly Fiorina, and Disney's Michael Eisner all lost their jobs because their management styles tripped them up. But not because of the ostensible reasons of "failed strategies, shareholder lawsuits, and missed earnings."
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What's the Difference Between Empowering and Enabling?
As a leader in your business, your job is to help each team member take personal responsibility for his or her behaviors, actions and results. Your responsibility is to guide and assist them in working toward their professional goals, and to help them eliminate the barriers to achieving those goals. You're there to empower them. You're not there to do it for them. The essence of my approach is empowerment. To empower is to give people power and authority, or remind them of their power and authority.
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When You Hear No, Keep Going Strong
Leo was a sales rep for a furniture company. Every day, he would visit different stores to offer his products. He covered a huge geographical distance, but always visited the same places - as regular as clockwork. There was one particular store that always said, "No." They already had a furniture distributor and there was no need to even have a meeting with Leo. The floor staff would always sent him away before he could even meet the buyer to describe how his service and products were different.
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Stop Blaming the Economy for Your Unproductive Business Development Habits
Are you blaming the economy for your business's lack of performance? I've got news for you: The economy has only exposed the real problems in your business, i.e., poor business development habits and lack of accountability. Here are the top 10 habits that could be responsible for the business development results you've been blaming on the economy:
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When a Boss Should Step Down and When an Employee Should Coach Up
People often ask me questions about workplace accountability. I figure if one person asks, more people are wondering, so I’ll be answering the questions on my blog so everyone can benefit. This time I’ll be answering two questions:
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My Best Month Ever
Last month was a good month - great clients, fantastic engagements, excellent results. My business is thriving and I feel like I'm on top of the world. I would even say it was my best month ever. You're probably wondering what I did differently. Did I change my brand of coffee? Start a new exercise regime? Or is this twinkle in my eye from spending time with a new love interest? Nope! None of these results happened from what I did last month. They're the culmination of many months of effort and accountability, using three key elements that I'm going to lay out for you today.
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Make a Date With Accountability
Each time I end a stretch of accountability work with a client, I ask what they're taking away. For example, I ask about the most memorable things they learned, and where they saw the most growth. I recently had a final session with a client who's been with me for two years. He easily came up with 10+ things that he'd gained from our work. We went through the list and discussed the ways his life was better and easier.
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What Bobby the Idiot Can Teach You About Accountability
Leaders often ask me how to keep people accountable. The first thing we usually need to discuss is what accountability actually means - and it's usually different from what they think. Accountability is not about looking for someone to blame when things go wrong, or nailing that person to the wall. That is a very controlling approach to leadership. When I think of controlling leaders, my client Sally always pops into my mind.
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