From Goals to Results: Mastering Accountability for Business Achievement

Starting the conversation:

Do you trust your team to follow through — or do you keep picking up the slack? Learn how true accountability builds trust, scalability, and a high-performance culture. Today’s episode dives deep into one of the most crucial — but often misunderstood — aspects of business growth: accountability. The advisors in this conversation are Jess Dewell, strategic growth consultant, Dean Barta, finance advisor, and Christy Maxfield, business consultant, who explore how accountability transforms ambitious goals into real, measurable results.

Together, they unpack what accountability truly means in a modern business landscape — from personal ownership and commitment to building trust and fostering effective teamwork. The trio shares real-world examples, powerful analogies (think: rowing in sync and taking ownership like a star quarterback), and actionable insights for leaders facing today’s complex, ever-changing work environments.

You’ll hear candid advice about why accountability matters now more than ever, how to create a culture where everyone understands and embraces their roles, and what it takes to address challenges head-on — whether your team is remote, hybrid, or in person. This episode is packed with practical strategies, relatable stories, and a touch of humor to empower you to lead with intention, set clear boundaries, and drive dynamic results in your business.

Host: Jess Dewell

Guests: Christy Maxfield and Dean Barta

What You Will Hear:

02:55 What is accountability and how does it show up in business?

• Accountability is a two-way street — people hold each other accountable at all levels, whether in business-to-business relationships or employer/employee dynamics.
• It’s about accepting responsibility for what you’ve agreed to do, requiring commitment and clarity.
• Accountability starts with the individual — how we show up and ask others to show up, with boundaries that ensure healthy communication and conflict.

05:08 Why does accountability matter right now for business success?

• Business complexity is growing, and leaders must balance immediate risks with long-term goals using imperfect information.
• Strategic growth and relevance rely on every team member’s contributions being aligned and accountable to shared goals.
• Clear understanding of commitments, goals, and roles is crucial — otherwise, teams may work at cross-purposes and waste resources

11:15 Lack of accountability erodes trust and wastes resources.

• When commitments aren’t fulfilled, trust breaks down, leading to people picking up work outside their role and working below their potential.
• Accountability gaps waste talent, time, and hinder scalable systems by forcing people to cover for others instead of delegating and collaborating.
• Without reliable accountability, organizations can’t build the trust needed for effective delegation, communication, and growth.

13:45 Commitment and ownership are at the heart of accountability.

• Commitment can be personal (to a job, company mission, team, or self), and influences how individuals react to setbacks or mistakes.
• Leaders like high-performing athletes take full responsibility for team outcomes, even when parts are outside their control, demonstrating deep commitment.
• True ownership is about recognizing what you control, taking responsibility for mistakes, and seeking improvement rather than making excuses.

18:35 What does “at all costs” really mean, and when is it helpful (or harmful)?

• A strong sense of urgency (“failure is not an option”) can drive innovation and high performance, as long as it’s managed and prioritized across teams.
• Too many urgent, “at all cost” priorities across teams can cause competition for resources and breakdown collaboration.
• Clear prioritization and appropriate urgency support a collaborative environment, rather than pitting team members against one another.

29:05 Someone has to define the work and make accountability possible.

34:25 Bias, fairness, and dignity are essential to sustainable accountability.

• Continual process improvement can create blind spots, making teams vulnerable to bias and undermining the bigger goal of a healthy culture.
• Fairness doesn’t mean treating everyone the same — it means dignifying each person’s unique contributions, experience, and role in the process.
• Creating a culture where people can openly give feedback about what it really takes to deliver, and adjusting expectations accordingly, builds trust and authenticity.

41:50 Building connection and accountability in remote or hybrid work.

• Virtual teams can maintain strong accountability and engagement by intentionally replicating proximity — through methods like open Zoom “work rooms” and regular check-ins.
• Direct, early communication about expectations, behaviors, and results builds trust across dispersed teams.
• Feedback must be frequent, clear, and focused on action, helping everyone feel seen and supported, regardless of physical distance.

3 takeaways:

• Christy Maxfield: She always gets me with this one. So what is my biggest takeaway? I think the commitment piece is my biggest takeaway. What are you committed to? Who are you committed to? And how does that commitment translate into accountability?
• Dean Barta: Accountability goes both ways. It’s circular, but it’s all in the same ecosystem. So is, you know, if you have one piece of your team [who] isn’t being accountable, then, you know, as a team, you’re not accountable. So you got to look at every link of the chain and make sure when everyone’s in full accountability. That’s where the beautiful results happen.
• Jess Dewell: Walk the talk. And if we can walk the talk, mess ups, [and] missteps, then we’re creating a space where other people may also do the same thing so that we can get to the communication and understand. Understand what is the right thing to do right now.

Resources

• 82% of managers report limited ability to hold others accountable.
• 72% of the global respondents believe that leadership accountability is a critical issue in their organization. Only 31% were satisfied with the degree of accountability demonstrated by their leaders.

Transcript

Jess Dewell 00:00
Accountability is a place to have boundaries which ensure healthy communication, also healthy conflict.

Christy Maxfield 00:06
I think we’re trying to increase revenue by 5% and you’re actually focused on diversifying markets. We might actually be working at cross purposes.

Dean Barta 00:15
If you have one piece of your team that isn’t being accountable, then as a team, you’re not accountable.

Jess Dewell 00:21
I’m so glad you’re here. Thanks for stopping by. At the Bold Business Podcast, we are normalizing important conversations. Yes, there are tips. Yes, there are ways to solve problems. More importantly are going to be what do you need for yourself to be able to solve those problems and make the most of the education, the training and the programs that you are already using? This is a supplement to that. It can sit on top of it. Fuel your soul, fuel your mind, and most importantly, regardless of where you’re at on your journey, maybe you’re starting out, maybe you’re ready to scale, maybe you’re going through reinvention. The conversations we are having will help. You at each of those steps stages. So hang around, see what’s going on and I look forward to seeing you engaging with our videos.

Announcer 01:13
Welcome to It’s Your Business brought to you by the Bold Business Podcast. This is your source for navigating today’s ever-evolving business landscape. In this program, Jess, Christy and Dean share the realities of current business challenges and triumphs. Get ready to lead with depth, understanding and achievement.

Jess Dewell 01:34
Hey, we’re live, we’re here, It’s Your Business and Christy, Dean, and I are glad to have you. This is where we are talking about navigating today’s ever-evolving business landscape. And let me tell you that our goal is not only to talk deep into subjects, to bring experience that the three of us as advisors and consultants have to share. We also have these conversations for empowerment, empowering you to assertively navigate, to show up and face the fight you’re having to face the challenge that’s going on, to maybe even just go, okay, it’s easy. And in that easy, how can we still be dynamic? How can we still face the challenges of doing business today? Let’s get ready to lead with depth and understanding and achievement. This is what it means to be a Bold Business right here. And I’m glad to be your host. I am Jess Dewell, Christy and Dean, please introduce yourselves.

Christy Maxfield 02:34
Christy Maxfield, owner of Purpose First Advisors. We help owners improve profitability through the lens of exit and secession planning.

Dean Barta 02:43
Dean Barda, Business Group. We’re professional accounting guides and we do that through fractional CFO and controller level work. For small businesses.

Jess Dewell 02:55
And I’m Jess Dewell at Red Direction. We are talking about growth, strategic, intentional growth. Figuring out what is the right work to do right now and doing as much of that work as possible. Today we’re talking about accountability from goals to results. This concept of accountability comes up all the time in our work and it’s one of my favorite ‘A’ words. I know there are some other ones that are pretty colorful, but this one is, has a lot of opportunity for us to dive into. So I was curious, Christy and Dean, what are your definitions of accountability?

Dean Barta 03:29
Since I work primarily with accounting, I’ve got the root of the word of accountability in our process. Really it’s being are you going to do what you say you’re going to do? And some people would call it, you walk the talk. Accountability is the two-way street people hold me accountable and I hold them accountable. That can be through a business-to-business type of client or it can be employee-employer kind of situation as well.

Christy Maxfield 03:56
And for me, it’s really accepting responsibility for what you’ve agreed to do, which requires a level of commitment and clarity. So you can walk that walk and walk that talk.

Jess Dewell 04:11
Oh, and it starts right here. I can point to my head, I could point to my heart, I could point to my gut. But it starts right here with the individual and how we choose to show up and how we ask others to show up. And I would add to those amazing definitions. Accountability is a place to not only have boundaries which I think ensure healthy communication, also healthy conflict. I also think that those boundaries allow us to have some other checks and balances built in. So, so we don’t get stuck in a We do this because we said this is how we’re going to be accountable and actually making sure that we are truly holding ourselves accountable regardless of who we were talking to. If they were brand new to our organization or they’re very tenured and have been part of the group for a very long time. All of that leads us into the why now? Why now? Yeah.

Christy Maxfield 05:06
I am inspired. I could hear it coming from you.

Jess Dewell 05:08
Why now? Every day it feels like business is getting more complex. There’s more systems to connect. We must know and understand all of these other things with very rarely perfect information to make decisions from to face and choose what to do about a risk or a problem that is immediate without taking us off track from these long-term goals. This constant balance of right now to the future, that’s engagement and performance. It’s also strategic growth and relevance so that everybody’s contributions are Driving that success. The companies who harness this will actually be the ones that succeed long term.

Christy Maxfield 05:52
I think you hit the nail on the head, Jess, earlier when you talked about your business. You are in the business of helping people do the right things at the right time and so that they can act with intention and be relevant in the market. Dean and I also do that in the different ways that we work with clients. But in order to do the right thing at the right time, there has to be a clarity around what are the goals of the organization, what are we trying to achieve. If I think we’re trying to increase revenue by 5% and you’re actually focused on diversifying markets, we might actually be working at cross purposes. We may be prioritizing the wrong things or deploying resources in ways that aren’t getting the results we want. So. So we have to start with understanding what is. What have we made the commitment to do together? How are those goals aligned to what we’re trying to achieve? And then who gets to play what role in that process? That’s how I look at it.

Dean Barta 06:47
And, I will always go back and give an example of an analogy in the outdoors is rowing together. Because you know, you can’t only have 20% of your team accountable. You got to have 100% of accountability across the board. And part of what you’re talking about, Christy, is what the goals are. A good definition, too, is ask your employee what’s their definition of accountability. Because some people, their way of being accountable is, I just don’t want to let anyone down. So understanding the motivation of how they’re going to be able to support those goals, and maybe some people, it might be more, but everyone’s got to understand what the goals are in their particular function within the company.

Jess Dewell 07:30
Yeah. Ann shared in a dialogue that we were having on LinkedIn earlier today that the best person to keep you accountable for all things is you. And that comes right into the example and what you were just sharing, Dean, building on what Kristi was saying earlier.

Christy Maxfield 07:45
And, whether you’re accountable to yourself or accountable to your boss or accountable to your team, it means that you have made a commitment and that you are going to fulfill that commitment. And I think what happens is when we’re not accountable, first and foremost to ourselves, it then becomes about what are the excuses that are being offered to ourselves or to others about why we were unable to be successful in fulfilling the obligation that we committed to. There are always going to be things that derail us, things that slow us down, but letting that be the point at which you stop taking responsibility for forward movement. That’s where I think things break down. I have clients who will be like, why? Why aren’t we done with the thing we said we’d be done with? And rather than folks identifying what steps they could have done differently, they’re like, I couldn’t get done what I needed to get done because Christy was holding up what she needed to get done, which was being held up by Bob. And if Bob doesn’t do it, Christy can’t do it. If Christy doesn’t do it, I can’t do. Therefore, I can’t be held responsible for the fact that I didn’t meet my deadline. When in fact, we need to be looking at strategies that say, how do we communicate to Bob what needs to be done and why it’s important so that Kristy can get what she needs and she understands what needs to be done and why it’s important. And then we can fulfill the obligation. That responsibility for actually taking the team or deploying the resources, human and otherwise, to get the work done is, I think, sometimes a big missing piece in the accountability chain. It’s, I was accountable for getting it done, but if other people don’t do their stuff, how can I be held accountable? That’s not how this goes.

Jess Dewell 09:28
Which, exactly, which goes right back to what Ann was sharing is, hey, it’s gotta start here. What does that actually mean? I think our conversation today really breaks down into these three parts that will look at this concept, Christie, of what you were just outlining very closely in three different ways. We’re talking about why accountability is so important for achieving goals. The second part is going to be about how can we address these accountability challenges more effectively. Can we recognize them? Can we step in and claim the fact that they are there so we can choose to change or not, but at least it’s conscious? And then the third one is where we’re working, how we’re working. The concepts of what a dynamic workplace looks like, remote hybrid, all on-site is interesting. And we’re going to talk about that too because this also is. All three of these are incredibly changing, fast-changing often. And what we think about them we’re not actually talking about. So we don’t even know if we agree within an organization of, to Dean’s point a lot earlier, of what do you think this means?

Christy Maxfield 10:38
That could be an important conversation. What do you think this means? Because we could be using the exact same words and mean very different things, whether it’s about accountability or anything else. So defining terms is a great place to start.

Dean Barta 10:51
Yeah, that’s the map, right? This is our goal. Here’s how we think we’re going to get to it. And it may be a point A to point B kind of thing. Part of what a goal will do is give anybody a visual picture of what needs to happen. But that goes back to what people need because people interpret instructions and goals differently, but making sure everybody’s just on the same page and moving forward.

Christy Maxfield 11:15
And when there’s a lack of accountability, things fall apart, literally and figuratively. Right? So if we consistently show up and make commitments to each other, and then we consistently fail to deliver on those commitments, we erode trust. And without trust, then I can’t show up. And no matter how smart you are, no matter how much I like you, no matter how much I know you care, no matter how much I think you’re committed, if I can’t rely on you, right? If we think about that component of trust, if I can’t rely on you, then I can’t show up in fidelity, which means I’m gonna do work I could have otherwise delegated, which means I’m not working at my highest and best. The proverbial ball being dropped is folks who don’t trust each other, don’t feel like their peers have accountability, will fill in the gaps in order to not be left holding the bag. And so we’re wasting resources, we’re wasting talent, we’re working on things that may not have high value. We’re certainly not communicating, and we’re not building anything that can be scaled. Because if we can’t trust each other, then we can’t actually delegate, manager, and collaborate in ways that make our work bigger than its individual parts. So it just breaks down.

Jess Dewell 12:32
How do we? That’s interesting, this concept of ownership and that need for when one of us… And here’s the deal, right? I’m thinking about a sports team. Sometimes somebody’s going to miss the sign, or let’s say it’s training. Sometimes somebody’s going to miss all the clues that say this is what’s going to happen regardless of whatever is going on. When it’s missed, how does the person who missed it respond? How are they showing up in that moment? I think the second piece is how are the people around them that might be either trying to avoid taking responsibility at that point or are taking responsibility at that point or some other variation of that. How are they showing up? And what is the body language? What is the intention? Was, is it a little zingy, right? Or is it let’s get better together? Those are a lot of different things. So when I hear you talk about commitment and I hear you share about having this depth, I don’t think it’s personalities. I really think it’s just what is the. Can we actually naturally just organically claim what it is, whether we like it or not, negative, neutral or positive in response to these challenges and when the ball gets dropped?

Christy Maxfield 13:45
And I think the best word I have for it is commitment. Making a very conscious, intentional commitment. Am I committed to my job because I need a job? Am I committed to the project because I like the people I’m working with? Am I committed to the company because I believe in its mission or value? What am I committed to? Am I committed to myself? Like, I need to do this and I need to do it with fidelity and credibility. And this is who I want to be in the world and how I want to be known. But what commitment have you made and then how have you chosen to react? I’m not a big sports person, but I happen to be a fan of Mr. Mahomes. And having watched a documentary on him and a few other quarterbacks, what I was most impressed by is it is a team sport. And there are things that will go wrong in that game that he has absolutely no control over. But as the quarterback and the team captain, he takes full responsibility for the performance of that team. Now he knows he can’t do all the like, he can’t possibly go out and play the game by himself. And he’s not saying that he personally failed to catch the ball or in his case, throw the ball, but. But that he is, he’s. He is so invested in. His commitment is so deep to himself, to his team, to the pe, the individual players, that there is no question that he considers it part of his responsibility to help the team be a success. And that’s just an uncommon level of commitment nowadays.

Dean Barta 15:16
And it’s important engagement too. And this is tied into what you’re saying, Christy, is not only commitment but engagement. And how engaged are you with is difference between being out in the field of play or just sitting in the sidelines? And because engagement, that’s the action part of commitment, right? Because you can be committed, but where it act is actualized is in the engagement. And so using, let’s run the sports analogy is the person who drops the winning touchdown or could be the winning touchdown, but drops the ball is least he was in the field of play and he did what he could to do it rather than just giving it up. Giving up. And so engagement with failure is a lot more forgivable than lack of engagement.

Christy Maxfield 16:09
Absolutely. And like Jess said, how does he react? So the guy who fumbles the ball, does he say, the sun was in my eyes and you didn’t throw it the right way and my cleats got caught up in the Astroturf? No, he says I dropped the ball, I made the mistake and that means I have to and fill in the blank, train harder, be more attentive, practice that maneuver more. But that there, I’m not deferring this outcome to something else. What I’m saying is I’m going to identify the things that I have control over and then I’m going to take responsibility for controlling those things that I can. And knowing, like you said, that failure will occur, but it won’t be from lack of trying. So that’s, I think when leaders look at their teams and especially when owners make the decision of can I delegate this task, this really important task that my company relies on? And when owners think about how can I get my employees to think like owners? How do we help our employees understand the consequences of their decisions? How do we help them make a mistake and learn from the mistake and so they don’t repeat that and that they can still show up and perform at their best as consistently as possible? So it’s a very active accountability requires a very active, deliberate, intentional conversation and frequent check-ins and feedback and follow-up, which is the piece that every owner will tell you they don’t have.

Jess Dewell 17:42
Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below. I thrive on your feedback and engagement. You’re listening to the Bold Business Podcast. I’m your host, Jess Dewell. This is your program for strategizing long-term success while diving deep into what the right work is for your business.

Announcer 18:00
Right now you’re listening to the Bold Business Podcast hosted by Jess Dewell, a nationally recognized strategic growth consultant. She works with business owners and executives to integrate just two elements that guide business through the ups and downs of growth. Number one, know what work is necessary. Number two, do all the work. Schedule a complimentary consultation. To find out more at reddirection.com

Jess Dewell 18:33
There’s a phrase that sounds extreme and maybe it is. I’ll throw it out here anyway, at all costs, what am I willing to do? What is the thing I’m willing to do at all costs? And if we know that is the mission of our company and we know that in the way that our work is being done, and we know that in our life we know how to show up at least it’s a start because we have some common language, we have some common mission right there to start from, to get to all of this. I’m going to call it elite because I’m listening to our conversation so far and I’m like how long did it take them to do that and be willing to claim that? What kind of self-work are they doing between their ears? What is the skill set that’s necessary to have that thick skin to just let it go, knowing that sometime it’s going to be harder for me and I hope they’re there for me?

Christy Maxfield 19:24
Do you have ideas about at all costs?

Dean Barta 19:25
I think of more like Apollo 13, failure is not an option. And that can be a huge motivator as well. When I’ve looked at things that this just has to be done, get it done at all costs is innovation happens. Sometimes clearer thinking happens. And to me that’s that can be actually the most exciting part of the over-encompassing goal is you put a little pressure on it that this has to be done. There’s you’ve whatever burned your ships, you gotta make this thing happen. And some people that makes them extremely uncomfortable and they freeze. But the people who are really high performers, the ones that hey at all costs or failure’s not an option and they’ll move through it and usually 100% of the time you’ll learn something new with it too.

Christy Maxfield 20:19
Yeah, I have so many ideas. The first is to offer that in some cases it’s for the sake of rather than at all costs. So for the sake of my marriage, for the sake of my job, for the sake of my wellbeing, I will do X. So offering that up. If you look at the work done around change management there is always identified the need for an appropriate sense of urgency and to not manufacture that but to have intrinsic motivation within the team. And I hesitate to use that word because you can’t always rely on motivation but that there’s an appropriate sense of urgency that is driving the need to make a change because change in particular is very hard. One caution I have with at all costs is I actually have a client who on a regular basis talks to the team that way. But if each of us leave with we relieve our five respective meetings where we’ve been told to get this thing done at all costs. Now it’s all about I have to do it and now I have to rely on other people to help me do it. And we’re all working at five different at-all-cost scenarios, which means that we’re not collaborating. We’re trying to figure out, how can I get the other people to help me do this at any cost while they’re trying to, they have to be engaged with three or four other people trying to do the same thing. So I think we have to think about how well we prioritize the collaboration that is inherent in complex organizations. You have complexity. So we have to explain how we need to collaborate to get things done so that failure is not an option, rather than using that methodology in a way that hits people against each other.

Jess Dewell 22:20
Yeah, I see both of those. And in the results of the companies that I’ve worked with over all the years I’ve been doing this. When there is no accountability, there, work is redone. When there is no accountability, resources are wasted. When there is no accountability, that just means processes are broken. Today, instead of going into these big things where we’ve got all this stuff, I was like, what about that app you put on your phone called Streaks, where I’m doing this pushup challenge? Did I do my pushups Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and how many did I do? I can put that into my streak and make sure I’m consistent consistently putting this thing into this app. Ultimately, at the very base level, when we’re talking about reducing work, increasing connection, utilizing resources, making sure everybody knows what their role is, it’s almost, are we just aware if it’s being done at all? And if it’s not, can we have that conversation yet? At the same point in time, when we break it down, are we just doing what we’re supposed to do? And if we’re encountering competing priorities and if we’re encountering ourselves in a team who all alone, there are questions to ask and a voice that must ask them.

Christy Maxfield 23:33
Yes, accountability starts with you, to you, for you. I work with a lot of owners who see me as an accountability partner, and it is not because I can wield any punishment against them for not meeting their deadlines, but having an external force, another person who knows what they’ve committed to, is far more compelling for them than having to tell themselves that they’ve dropped the ball on something. So there’s an interesting phenomenon around that accountability peach that coaches and consultants and advisors play. And really, it has to come where you’re, regardless of whether you’re motivated or not, is your commitment to yourself deep enough so that you will show up and do these things even when no one’s looking? And if it’s not yet, how do you use the person, the someone looking to create a habit that becomes capable of withstanding distraction, boredom, lethargy, disinterest, lack of motivation. Because we’re honestly, we’re, myself included, we’re not really good at being accountable to ourselves. We’re much better at being accountable to other people.

Dean Barta 24:55
When you have an accountability partner, it creates better results. Sometimes if you view yourself as a person that basically keeps breaking promises to yourself, but you bring in a personal trainer or someone to help you to basically create a new habit of being accountable to yourself, that can be very helpful. And one of the ways I’m accountable to myself is I meditate outdoors every single day. And today was 2,554 days. And I do that.

Jess Dewell 25:31
I remember when you started that goal.

Dean Barta 25:34
I just cried across seven years straight every single day. And I’m trying to keep a streak too. And the other part of the ego that helps me commit to a spiritual goal is I’ve told people, I said, I haven’t come up with a, basically a valid enough reason not to. So until I could find a valid enough reason not to, because my ego’s, oh, why’d you quit? I’ve used it as an internal motivation, I think, really within a team. Going back to what we talked about was, what’s the internal motivation for being accountable to your team and yourself and working together and helping move things forward? Because, frankly, when we’re all accountable to, like, ourselves and other, it just feels good, right?

Jess Dewell 26:24
It does feel good. And I’ll tell you what, I understand why businesses want systems that keep track of things. I understand that these systems that keep track of things maybe feel heavy sometimes or why are they there in the sense that they’re keeping track of us? That’s because if something were to break down and it broke down at my desk, the whole reason the system is set up is so somebody can come to my desk and say, hey, Jess, what’s happening right now? We’re moving into a place where this is becoming the norm. And I will speak for myself. I think I can speak for our trio here that says we understand there’s more than technology to make a business successful, to make a team high functioning. And having these systems helps point to, well, where is the breakdown right now? And what can we do together? What do you need, Jess? How can this occur? And I find this fascinating because I’m a big fan of Basecamp or ClickUp or whatever those tools are for small teams. You get bigger and you have enterprise tools or large teams. And the purpose is only that it’s not to keep track of us. It’s to make sure that the person knows where something is in the process and can go straight to the source. Instead of asking around, let’s reduce the time it takes to get to the problem and go find a place we can help solve the problem and help understand what’s behind it. Because to, to the point about ego, sometimes it’s just a lot and overwhelming. Sometimes it was a forget and sometimes there was a really good reason and there was a reason but nobody thought to ask me and I forgot to tell everybody. And I think that’s fair to build on this conversation. And in fact, look at this. Pam was having a conversation on LinkedIn earlier today too about this conversation as we were getting ready for our livestream today. And she says accountability is the engine behind every scalable system. And if you’re not clear on who owns what and by when, even the best strategy stalls out.

Christy Maxfield 28:24
Amen to that. I mean, clarity of role, purpose and process is where it starts. And then from there use whatever technology you want. Your good old-fashioned pen and paper is still a technology. I love a good list so long as it has deadlines on it. Right. So I don’t leave a room without knowing when do you need that buy and then who do I have access to help me make it happen. And then if I’m the person delegating, what do you need from me to be successful? Right. Like these are prerequisites for you being able to be accountable. Because now you know, I have to do this by this time with these resources and I could ask for help if I need it.

Jess Dewell 29:08
You want to know something? Somebody has to actually decide what, what the thing is with all of those elements that you just said. And guess who that is in my company.

Christy Maxfield 29:20
By the way, if that’s you.

Jess Dewell 29:21
Don’t be worried about the fact that you might not know those all those things that go into making it to actually have. I think that’s why we’re talking today. Oh yeah, there’s a pre-step. Oh, I decided I was going to go over and do this thing and everybody wants something I don’t have yet. Okay, pause. Let’s back up. There’s a little more work to do. No problem. And I think that’s really important when we’re talking about it is we’re talking about things that are like already ready to go. I’m going to pull back a minute.

Christy Maxfield 29:50
And say somebody’s got to make those.

Jess Dewell 29:52
Things that allow everybody else to go do all the stuff that we’ve just.

Dean Barta 29:55
Been talking about within my own team. And even when I was in management, I always liked being in those leadership positions. I kept people accountable, but they kept me accountable and kept me on my toes about things. And, and, I had to be thinking really six months in advance and all that so that those resources and software and tools and all those things were lined up for my team when they needed them. But that’s where the business owner is not only keeping the vision of the company but also making sure all those is the maestro of the, that your company as well.

Jess Dewell 30:34
Yeah. And so this comes up, brings us into the second part of our conversation which is how do we address these challenges effectively? And I’m really glad for that transition. And that thought-provoking thing that just made me say we might have to take a step back and do that work because it might not be done yet. And I think that’s incredibly important. And we do lean into tools to do that, we do lean into delegation to do that. And at some point, we can delegate. But if we don’t know the reason why the work is being done the way that it is, we actually are going to have inefficiencies in our, in our system. We’re going to have these natural breakdowns that are nobody’s fault yet. Instead of taking a step back and looking at the larger picture, how are we relevant? What is our business model? Is our business model safe from disruption today? If so, or if not, how long do we actually have? What are the things we need to think about? What are all of these bigger elements? And then when we have our team together. Right? I’m going to go back to there are tools out there that measure all of this stuff. And the thing is, I’m going to tell you in this world today, that’s great as a baseline, it is not the solution. It is something that happened in the past. We can berate the past or we can actually use the past as a guide to decide what is our decision actually in front of us today. And that’s where I think accountability shifts from whatever we’re tracking into something that is productive and dynamic is from that very thing. Can we take a step back? Can we look at the bigger picture and can we ask and know that the people we are asking will be honest with us, their understanding of how things work, what the priorities are? If they’re confused, will they tell us they’re confused? And all of those things come back to something that Christy said at the very beginning, which was that’s how we build trust. And so I’m a big proponent of tools as long as they’re working with the strengths and the experiences of each of the persons that choose to come to work every day with you and Christy and Dean. Because here’s the deal. It doesn’t matter what our background is. It matters that it’s diverse. It doesn’t matter what our background is. It matters that we saw something or whoever put the person in that position and said, yes, this is who we want on our team now come on in, we’re going to onboard you and make you part of this. Whatever our criteria was for that happened. And so now this is where the rubber meets the road. And I’m a big believer in fairness. And I also believe fairness doesn’t look the same for every single person, because otherwise, all we’re doing is getting a standard. Otherwise, all we’re doing is having this opportunity to be lumped in and have a rating. And what does that rating actually mean? Because if my work is unique to me in my experiences, even though I’m getting a function of a job completed and being part of some bigger end game here, every single person in this company is going to be the same as me. And so we can’t actually have that standard anymore where we’re all the same. It actually can create fight or flight in us. It can create anxiety in us. And these are the things that just as people, when we have. We already have enough stress in this life, in this world. If we’re coming to work and we’re having more. Now what? Right now what? So when I think about fairness, how do we dig into fairness? Christie was talking about accountability with commitment. I think about fairness and I think a little bit about genuineness and going even one step further, am I being dignified? Am I allowing others to have space to have their own dignity as well? And that word dignity came from an article that I’ll make sure that we link to. It was about encouraging employee engagement from HBR. So we from Harvard Business Review. So we’ll get that linked into the show notes. We’re creative. We like the shortest way possible. We want to optimize. And some of us are really good at optimizing and others of us are always optimizing differently. In that optimization, we’re making assumptions, and in those assumptions, biases can occur. So when we’re talking about accountability, we can’t forget about our blind spots. We can’t forget about the things that we’re optimizing that might accidentally get in the way of our bigger goals, which not only erode our culture, but they get in the way of our priorities, too.

Christy Maxfield 34:57
And, optimizing requires change. Change requires a transition. And so we have to be respectful of the fact that people are going to mourn the lack of continuity. They’re going to mourn not being able to do it the way they wanted to do it or have been doing it before. They can make the transition into doing it differently. So I think the thing where my eyes really lit up where you say, do you have we built a culture where the team can give informed feedback about what it actually takes to do what you’re asking because as leaders, we’ll come in and say, I need this information. I need these data points. I need that. And we don’t necessarily appreciate that it takes three systems and two manual procedures to get that done. And we’re not even actually sure why we need the thing, but we’ve decided we need it. That’s where I’ve seen the most friction, where people are resisting change because not because they don’t believe that the thing they’re being asked to help accomplish is important, but because their perception is you don’t fully appreciate what this requires and how hard it will be to get you what you need. And so we have to have honest dialogue about that. And then those creatives who have come to the table and said, I need this new data point. We need to look at it this way. I need to be able to assess that are my people better off being deployed in different ways that use their talents. I have a client who often uses the word should. We should have a meeting about that. We should make a decision about that in every meeting. I’m in my job with them is my job is to say, do you actually want that done? If so, by when? Right. That decision of is it. Are you actually saying, I, we need to do this by the 31st? Or are you trying to be nice and expecting somebody to say, I’ll get that done by the 31st for you? Because that doesn’t work. That other thing that, like, oh, someone else will step up and close the gap between the thing I’ve identified, needs to be done and actually getting it done so that. Don’t underestimate the importance of being the one to make the decision that something needs to happen. Even if you end up changing your mind later, you can always reserve the right to say, upon further reflection, I don’t actually need it by the 31st. Or in fact, I need it by the 21st.

Jess Dewell 37:20
That’s very kind of you. Upon further reflection, I usually stumble right through that I got some new information or hey, I thought about it and I actually don’t think I like what I said.

Christy Maxfield 37:30
Like you have permission to change your mind. You just need to be clear about it and communicate it to people when you do.

Jess Dewell 37:37
My biggest one, my favorite one is I’m so glad you told me that in response to what I just asked of you. And then I had a chance to go reflect and come back and say, I got to listen. I listened to you. I hear you. Let’s what do you think about this? So I took a decision that needed to be made and I got into a compromise that helped elevate everybody and have some ownership and everything that can move forward. Earlier in our conversation on LinkedIn, Melissa shared she is a fine artist and is a painter and she said, I hold myself accountable to my easel. Hands down, this is my work. My work happens when I’m doing. Steady attention is also communication, which is also part of my job. So her team focuses on their output first of creating their paintings and then they are communicating and having meetings with that communication to set their priorities and go. And by the way, I thought this was beautiful and reflective of a super simple thing because what I know, my business lovers, I know what my product is, I know where my money comes from and I’m making informed, intentional decisions because of that. That’s what accountability really is in a nutshell.

Christy Maxfield 38:52
And then meetings are a tool, just like apps or spreadsheets or handwritten to-do lists. Meetings are tools too. So we need to make sure that when we are meeting, we’re using the right type of meeting to do the right thing and move things forward. Most people are like, oh, nobody needs. Maybe they actually do because the meetings that they have aren’t structured well, aren’t well defined. Don’t actually propel things forward, take too much time or don’t take enough time. So really, I think her point about the more we are touching base, the more we’re having those regular meetings, the more likelihood that we are communicating and being heard and understood and we can move faster because otherwise I might just be sitting in my own space going, I really need feedback on this and this. But I can’t get any time with people and until I can get that time with them, I can’t move them this forward.

Jess Dewell 39:45
Welcome, welcome. You’re already here. So I’m going to say, look, you’re listening to it’s your business and it’s brought to you by the Bold Business Podcast. I’m Jess and my co-hosts and panelists are…

Christy Maxfield 39:57
Christy Maxfield. I’m with Purpose First Advisors. We work with owners to improve profitability through the lens of exit and secession planning.

Dean Barta 40:07
And Dean Barda at Barda Business Group. We’re professional accounting guides working in the space of Fractional CFO, fractional controllership services for small businesses.

Jess Dewell 40:18
And we’ve been talking about accountability and what it means to be bold in our business through accountability. Our first section talked about why it was important and how does it actually tie to our goals. Our second section as we’re just wrapping this up, is how can we as leaders address accountability and the challenges related to accountability effectively? And here we go. We’re moving into our third part and we’re talking about best practices not only to foster accountability overall, but in remote and hybrid work environments.

Dean Barta 40:54
Yeah, my whole team, we’re entirely virtual. What I communicate to my team is even though we’re on our own virtual islands, we still work as a team. And hey, don’t try to figure out the solution or if you’re having an issue by yourself. We’re all here. Just if we were sitting in a brick-and-mortar office, reach out, because Cynthia may know something that Aaron doesn’t know. Ian Owen may know something that Barbara doesn’t know. So it’s definitely reminding people that because since remote working and hybrids working is. It’s the future is here. It’s been here for. Since COVID really is, we still work as a team. And how to you you could still treat it just like you were showing up to work and make sure people are in that mindset so they’re not siloed in their own work process.

Christy Maxfield 41:53
One of my colleagues shared that during COVID they started doing Zoom work calls, which were literally just you log on and you do your work while keeping your Zoom open, right? And it sounds y’all just gonna watch me work. But it created this proximity that was missing so that folks felt a little bit more accountable to each other. But also they felt the camaraderie of I could look up, I could see if Christy is at her desk or Steve, just like I would in my workplace if we were all co-located. I could look up and see who’s at their desk, who’s taking a lunch break, who’s doing what. And I could also just get on and chat and say, do you actually have five minutes? We could go into a breakout room. We could have a conversation. We could come back and rejoin the team and there Were a lot of skeptics. But she reported, I did it and I liked it and I did it and I felt less alone. I did it and I felt more connected to my team members. And it still sounds a little hokey. I’m just going to log onto a Zoom and be quiet and do my work while y’all have the opportunity to watch me do it. But the outcomes were really high and the benefit was substantial enough that they’ve kept doing it post Covid.

Jess Dewell 43:07
That’s interesting. I got really good at feedback, running dispersed teams early in my career we had an office of I think seven or nine, something like that. And then as we were acquired and I was part of the acquiring team that was bringing on other companies, none of the other companies teams came to us. We didn’t go to the head office. So I became responsible for how do we do this? And I think one of the things that I got really good at was feedback. Half the time I stuck my foot in my mouth, not on purpose, but because I was missing information that I thought I had. So what was that? What did I have to do then? It was either things were already done or other decisions had been made and somehow I wasn’t privy to them. And in the end it was all my responsibility. So I had to change the way that I interacted with everybody, both in my office, outside my door, as well as dispersed across the United States. And I will tell you this concept of how opening with questions, doing check-ins, understanding what’s going on. And I believe in small talk, but not when work is getting done. I think that there’s an element of our time is precious. It is a scarce resource. We already have so much. So if I’m showing up with something, I gotta lead with the thing I’m showing up for. But when I think about feedback, we’re talking about behavior. If I’m not seeing the result of behavior, regardless of what the behavior is, we may or may not see it. But if I’m not seeing the result I’m looking for, it seems like there’s a behavior, something to occur, conversation to be had. So how can you ask the question, how can you engage? Because early constant direct communication sets that stage for everything that the two of you already have just shared of, Cool. I’m going to be direct, we’re going to be straightforward, we’re going to get to the crux of this. And by the way, I don’t mind having egg on my face. Oh, I didn’t know that was going on. Could you please fill me in? That sounds really important. What was the reason that you felt that this was the most important thing? Because then now what we’re doing, regardless of the distance between us, regardless of our ability to see each other, sometimes it’s on the phone, sometimes it’s by text, sometimes it’s in some messenger program, we have the ability to actually really connect, to be seen and heard, even when it’s all tightening now, as one example. And so feedback. I’m a big proponent of feedback when it comes to dispersed and remote work and just being direct and knowing that, hey, we all are making these decisions and we can all be better at having conversations about them. So I’ll be the first to say I might have egg on my face about this, and I’m okay with that, because, heck, you don’t know until the more you know somebody and the more you practice, it’s easier to get to that direct, honest, open, clear communication that really supports the best working environment. And people think that they work better remotely, and that might be why.

Dean Barta 46:07
And I think it’s important. And you took the lead in that situation, Jess, is that, hey, it’s not okay. You’re managing the situation and you’re above the fray of the team. No, you’re right there in it, and you’re accepting critical feedback as much as anyone else. And to me, that there’s a lot of value in that. No one’s above anything. It fosters trust, what we’ve talked about before, and that’s a good cultural move. And for some people, they got to swallow a little bit of pride and ego in order to get that. People will grow from that when they allow themselves to be in those situations.

Christy Maxfield 46:46
And I think that being able to build connection remotely is incredibly important. So I’m like you, Jess. I like to get right to the point, get the work done, respect your time. But I really come to appreciate the importance of the check-in, the importance of taking time to check in with each other as human beings and what’s going on and how are you showing up to this work today and then shifting gears into actually getting the work done together. But skipping that part really does damage the ability to connect and be present.

Jess Dewell 47:18
I just do them at different times. So I was totally about accountability. And thank you, though, for calling that out and bringing that up, because you’re.

Christy Maxfield 47:24
Right, it’s a free-for-all. Even though we planned it without planning. Who knows what we were talking about? But it would be fun. Damn it. It would.

Jess Dewell 47:33
I was gonna say may not be.

Christy Maxfield 47:35
Productive, but it’ll be damn fun. It would be super fun, but finding ways to be present. My husband’s boss works. His company is in Canada and so his boss is in Canada. Thankfully, we’re on the t same time zone. Otherwise, everybody would be a little loopy. But his boss actually wants Chris, my husband, to call him a couple times a week. Not with an agenda, just kind of check-in. How’s it going? What do you need? Here’s where I am. He has a formal way of updating him on projects, but he’s been told explicitly, just pick up the phone.

Jess Dewell 48:09
Yeah.

Christy Maxfield 48:10
And it’s okay if you call. And all we do is say, yep, I’m good.

Jess Dewell 48:16
Yeah.

Christy Maxfield 48:16
Which is weird because, like, we feel like everything we do has to have meaning and purpose and focus and attention. And this does. It just looks very different. The meaning, purpose, focus and attention is about keeping connecting as individuals. It’s about closing communication gaps. It’s about trying to replicate that. Innovation centers were designed originally because of a belief in the power of proximity. That if scientists were near business people and business people were near creatives, that proximity itself would create these serendipitous moments. And then we all went virtual during COVID and we discovered there are benefits from not being co-located. But proximity still plays a big role in how we transmit information, how we learn about each other, how we gauge read the room. It’s hard to read the room if you’re not in the room. And so I think we will continue. I don’t think anybody has the playbook yet on how best to do this, but there’s no reason I should be less accountable to either of you because we’re in three different time zones. There’s nothing that the fact that we’ve never been in a room together shouldn’t make it. We’ve made a commitment to each other. We show up and we do what we said we were going to do. Like we talked about earlier, we bring problem-solving to the table. We bring creativity to the table. We bring fun and forgiveness. Yeah. Sometimes one of us is going to be late or show up a little more distracted than others, but we know that we can still count on each other. And that’s in three different time zones, folks.

Jess Dewell 49:46
That’s right. And to the point of, I’m good, sometimes that’s all there is. And that’s, by the way, I would consider that a really big win. I know people might go, that’s a small win. But hey, having the conversation of I’m good is incredibly powerful. I’m like, cool, I don’t need to have a problem to work here. How amazing is that?

Christy Maxfield 50:05
To care about me and pay attention to me, right? Because we always pour a lot of time and energy into our low performers trying to help them be better performers. And we often neglect our shining stars. And so sometimes our shining stars just need our attention and our presence, even though they’re good, like they got it. But especially when a disproportionate amount of our energy usually goes to folks who aren’t good and don’t get it.

Jess Dewell 50:33
And that creates an imbalance for managers too. Right? Meredith was sharing in our LinkedIn conversation today. When she was in the corporate world, there were many times that she realized that managers and supervisors, they weren’t holding anybody accountable because they were overwhelmed themselves. And this concept of what we’re talking about right here actually really applies in terms of are you good? Just being able to have that human-to-human check-in. I think that’s great.

Christy Maxfield 51:00
Because we’re all asking you to talk to each other more.

Dean Barta 51:04
No, and as a company, you should be looking at their. The. Who are the managers and supers that because they’re probably holding back progress and because they’re overwhelmed. Why are they overwhelmed? And as owners of companies or executives need to look at every link of that chain of the whole team. It’s not just who might be the worker bees. Sometimes we need either more managers or the managers are doing things that they shouldn’t be doing. Everyone’s not rowing at the same stroke. And people who are overwhelmed, that that’s part of it is that they’re off and they need to support too.

Jess Dewell 51:42
I want to hear what your biggest takeaways are.

Christy Maxfield 51:45
The commitment piece is my biggest takeaway. What are you committed to? Who are you committed to? And how does that commitment translate into accountability?

Dean Barta 51:55
It goes both ways. It’s, it’s circular, but it’s all in the same ecosystem. If you have one piece of your team that isn’t being accountable, then you know, as a team, you’re not accountable. So you gotta look at every link of the chain and make sure when everyone’s in full accountability. And there, that’s where the beautiful results happen.

Jess Dewell 52:15
What I realized as I was sharing throughout this whole thing was I was using a lot of examples here, from me. So I’m gonna say I think my biggest takeaway was something that maybe we never said out loud, which is walk the talk. And if we can walk the talk, mess ups, missteps, then we’re creating a space where other people may also do the same thing so that we can get to the communication and understand what is the right thing to do right now.

Christy Maxfield 52:45
Awesome takeaways.

Jess Dewell 52:46
I know, right? We are good. We are done. Hey, this is It’s Your Business. And how cool is it that we have completed another livestream today? I can’t wait to, to see you next time.

Jess Dewell 53:21
Every single time I have a conversation, I take away something that I want to share with 25 people. I know when you’re listening to this podcast, you’re also listening for that and will have something that you want to share in the comments. I would like for you to engage with us. What is that thing that you want to tell 25 people from this program? Here’s why it’s important. It’s important because yeah, there are going to be how-tos. Yes. There are going to be steps. Yes, you’re going to be like, oh, I wish I wrote that down. I wish I wasn’t doing this and I could actually take action on that right now. But guess what? You’re not. So engage right now because that one thing you want to share with others will be the thing that you can figure out how to incorporate in your business, in your workflow, in your style tomorrow.

Announcer 53:48
Jess hosts the Bold Business Podcast to provide insights for building a resilient, profitable business by deeply understanding your growth strategy, ensuring market relevance and your company’s future. It is bold to deeply understand your growth strategy with your host, Jess Dewell. Get more information about how to drive solutions and reset your growth mindset at reddirection.com. Thank you for joining us and special thanks to our post-production team at the Scott Treatment.