When coaches and players talk about accountability, it is far too often done for the wrong reasons and wrapped up in rules and regulations. The most common way to hold someone accountable is to throw a rule book or a policy at them with no thought as to how that will influence someone's life. People, especially college student-athletes, are hungry for mentoring and accountability, but there are too few authentic leaders helping them. This is a problem.
If we truly want to hold others accountable and influence their growth, we need to do it out of love and sincere relationship building. We need to spend time understanding those around us and commit to holding ourselves accountable first. Best selling author, Jon Gordon, recently tweeted some great content related to accountability as seen below:
We often talk about holding our team members accountable but if a team truly loves each other they'll want to be their best for each other.
— Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) January 14, 2016True accountability isn't generated by rules and regulation. It's the result of relationships, love, and the pursuit of excellence.
— Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) January 14, 2016I think that Jon Gordon has this idea of accountability spot on! Instead of talking about your program culture and its rules, try to lead with relationships, love, and the pursuit of excellence and true accountability will naturally flow from this type of leadership. When we commit to this, our players and those we work with will begin to see our heart and want to give their best for you and the program!