I’ve completed over 11,000 one-on-one business coaching sessions. When you meet with that many business owners, you start to recognize patterns. One of the patterns I picked up on I call when you “Isn’t there a C option.”
Here’s an example of how it goes. Sally is a valued employee who has a very specific skill no one else in the organization has. It would be tough to run the business without Sally’s specific skills. However, Sally is cultural poison. She runs off customers and new employees. She’s tough to be around and makes creating a positive will work culture nearly impossible.
There are really only two options for what to do about Sally. Option A, terminate Sally and find someone who’s a better cultural fit and deal with the significant consequences of replacing Sally’s skill. Option B, realize that Sally’s skill can’t be found elsewhere and put up with all the baggage without complaining. Interestingly, I found it hard for business people to pick between Option A and Option B because they both stink. People would hold out for Option C, where Sally radically changed her fundamental nature and became an ideal employee who left her skills at the company. It’s understandable why people would want Option C, but my struggle as a coach was getting them not to hold out for this impossible option. Effectively, they would permanently delay taking bad Option A or bad Option B and stop the company from moving forward.
Accountability works the same way. We hold out for Option C, which gets us all the good things that come from accountability without any of the work required. Whether we like it or not, there’s a straight-line relationship between results and accountability. The more accountable we are, the better results we will get.
Accountability doesn’t have to have a negative connotation. People who are accountable can have more fun, get more satisfaction, and achieve far greater results than those who are not as accountable.
If you’re ready to accomplish more of your goals in less time, schedule a call with one of our coaches.