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Use F.A.C.T.S. to Mentor the Difficult Employee?

Balanced Accountability: Using F.A.C.T.S. to Transform Energy Vampires into Team Players

Every workplace has them, difficult employees who seem to drain the energy out of every meeting, project, or task. These individuals, often dubbed “energy vampires,” bring negativity or disengagement that can impact the entire team. But instead of writing them off, what if there was a way to redirect their energy to benefit the group?

With a structured approach like Balanced Accountability and a framework called F.A.C.T.S. (Facts, Action, Cost, Timeline, Support), leaders can inspire even the most challenging employees to take responsibility and become positive contributors.

What is Balanced Accountability?

Balanced Accountability is about creating a culture where every team member takes ownership of their actions and impact on the team. This approach is grounded in three core pillars: Personal Accountability, Positive Accountability, and Performance Accountability.

  1. Personal Accountability focuses on each individual’s responsibility to manage their actions and attitudes. It encourages employees to take ownership of their behavior and its effect on team dynamics.
  2. Positive Accountability promotes constructive and supportive interactions. Rather than punishing mistakes, it focuses on positive reinforcement and encouragement, which helps employees feel valued and motivated to improve.
  3. Performance Accountability ensures that each team member is contributing to the organization’s goals. This pillar highlights the importance of measurable outcomes, making it clear that everyone has a role in achieving team objectives.

When these three elements are combined, Balanced Accountability becomes a powerful tool that doesn’t just correct behaviors but also builds a positive, high-performing culture. Leaders can transform “energy vampires” into engaged team players by helping them understand how their actions affect their own growth, the morale of others, and the overall team performance.

Understanding Energy Vampires in the Workplace

Energy vampires are employees who drain enthusiasm and motivation from their colleagues. They may exhibit behaviors like chronic complaining, pessimism, or reluctance to participate. This negativity affects not only their own productivity but also the morale of the entire team. Yet, many of these employees might not even realize their impact. This is where Balanced Accountability, using the F.A.C.T.S. framework, can play a transformative role.

The F.A.C.T.S. Framework: A Path to Accountability

The F.A.C.T.S. accountability framework provides leaders with a structured, supportive approach to addressing performance issues. Here’s how to apply it to inspire change in energy-draining employees:

F: Facts

The first step is to objectively present the facts of the situation. This isn’t about personal judgments, opinions or emotions; it’s about providing concrete examples of the employee’s behavior and its impact on the team. Facts offer clarity and help the employee understand precisely what actions are causing issues.

Example: “On three occasions this month, you voiced concerns in meetings without offering any solutions, which led the team to feel discouraged and hesitant to contribute.”

By focusing on facts, leaders keep the conversation grounded, avoiding accusations or defensiveness. This helps the employee see the specific behaviors needing change, setting a clear foundation for the next steps.

A:  Action

After addressing the facts, outline the action the employee needs to take. This isn’t just about changing behaviors; it’s about actively involving the employee in the process. Ask them what actions they feel they could take to turn things around. Encouraging their input helps them feel ownership over their growth.

Example: “What steps can you take to express your concerns constructively and offer solutions, so the team feels supported and motivated?”

By involving the employee in defining the action plan, you empower them to take responsibility. This step encourages the energy vampire to transition from being a passive critic to an active problem-solver, boosting their engagement and the team’s morale.

C:  Cost

Next, highlight the cost of their behavior, both tangible and intangible. This isn’t about guilt-tripping; it’s about helping them understand the broader consequences of their actions on team morale, productivity, and trust.

Example: “When meetings end with unresolved negativity, the team becomes hesitant to share ideas. This affects our creativity, slows down project progress, and makes our meetings feel unproductive.”

By articulating the costs of energy-draining behavior, leaders can help the employee realize the impact they have on the team and the organization. This step can often serve as a wake-up call, showing the employee how their actions ripple outwards.

T:  Timeline

The next step is to establish a timeline for improvement. Setting a timeline for specific actions creates urgency, focus, and accountability. This is especially effective for employees who tend to procrastinate or show reluctance in addressing their behaviors.

Example: “Immediate improvements over the next four weeks, starting with tomorrow’s meeting. We’ll review your progress each week to ensure you’re on track.”

With a timeline in place, the employee knows exactly what’s expected and by when. This creates a structured plan that allows both the leader and the employee to monitor improvement and address any challenges along the way.

S:  Support

Finally, offer support to help the employee succeed. Often, energy-draining behaviors stem from unaddressed frustrations or a lack of confidence. By showing your willingness to support their growth, you help them feel encouraged and motivated.

Example: “I’m here to help you find strategies for sharing feedback positively. We can role-play responses or practice active listening skills to make these conversations feel more constructive.”

Providing support reassures the employee that they’re not alone in this process. It shows that, as a leader, you’re invested in their improvement and willing to offer resources, whether through training, regular check-ins, or mentorship.

Turning Energy Vampires into Positive Contributors

By using F.A.C.T.S., leaders can guide employees from a place of disengagement to active participation. This framework creates a balanced, step-by-step approach that addresses the issue without alienating the employee. The result? A workplace culture where employees feel valued, know their impact, and understand their role in the bigger picture.

For energy vampires, this approach can be transformative. By showing them that their actions matter, highlighting both the costs and benefits, and providing the support they need to grow, leaders can inspire genuine change. Balanced Accountability with F.A.C.T.S. not only improves individual performance but also strengthens team cohesion, morale, and productivity.

Take Action with Love

Balanced Accountability isn’t just a strategy—it’s a mindset that helps leaders inspire even the most challenging employees to become team players. Through the F.A.C.T.S. framework and the pillars of Personal, Positive, and Performance Accountability, leaders can turn every accountability conversation into a growth opportunity. This approach transforms energy vampires into empowered, motivated contributors who bring energy and positivity to the team. When employees understand their value and see the role they play in their team’s success, they’re more likely to engage fully, helping create a workplace that thrives on positivity, productivity, and collective accountability.

About the Author:

Hernani Alves makes the most complex skill in business and life, awesomely simple.

Hernani started as a part-time employee and eventually grew to become the President of a $3 billion publicly traded Company that was regularly voted as Best Workplace. Today, he’s an author and an international speaker that helps leaders build world-class teams focused on getting results.

Hernani has been featured in:   Stanford University, University of California, Oklahoma State University, SHRM-Atlanta, iHeart Radio,HR.com, CEOWorld Magazine, Extreme Leadership, and more.

In his best selling book, Balanced Accountability: Three Leadership Secrets to Win Hearts and Maximize Performance, Hernani delivers clarity on the case for accountability and the steps organizations, and individuals need to take to unleash their potential. He reveals the frame work needed to improve accountability in the workplace to win hearts and maximize performance.

In his best-selling book, The Champion Advantage, Hernani delivers clarity on the case that we need to refocus and reset our lives.   He reveals the champion playbook to maximizing our controllables to get a head start to winning like a Champion.

To connect with Alves, visit his Website or LinkedIn Profile

Are You A Manager Or Leader?

Managing vs Leading With Balanced Accountability:  Learn the Six Differences to Winning Hearts

It was early in my career when I realized that I wanted to be a leader. I was in college and had picked up a part-time sales job at a mattress retailer. It was here that I first learned that I really loved selling. I was determined to climb those corporate ranks so I focused on exceeding my sales goals and going above and beyond whenever I could. My hard work paid off and it wasn’t long before I was promoted to store manager. Little did I know how unprepared I was for the challenge.

It didn’t matter to me; I was thrilled to be advancing, and I hit the ground running. My management plan was mostly rooted in doing everything strictly by the book. I made sure my employees knew that what I said was exactly what I meant. I controlled everything they did from interacting with clients to vacuuming the store to taking out the trash. No matter the task, I was sure to be involved. Does the term “micromanagement” come to mind?

Managing vs. Leading

The thing is, my heavy-handed approach actually did produce great results. In my first two months as a manager, I tripled my store’s previous sales volumes. My performance was surpassing expectations, but unsurprisingly my staff was less than impressed. Great numbers are fun, but my way of getting them was unsustainable. I found myself with a team that truly hated working with me. Despite that early success, I was looking at a future of high turnover and money lost, not to mention a miserable work environment. I was always taught that accountability was vital to successful management so where was I going wrong?

The answer was right in front of me. I was managing instead of leading. Kathy Austin, a member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) once said: “Managers light a fire under people; leaders light a fire in people.” My employees weren’t following my example because they trusted me, they were obeying my instructions because they were afraid of me. Motivation is essential to maintaining employee engagement, and fear is not a sustainable motivator. People will run through walls for a leader that they believe in, but they’ll run away from one they don’t.

Six Ways to Win Hearts

Real success doesn’t come from managing others. People hate being managed. What employees respond to is leadership from someone who will guide them to success, inspire individuality, and encourage creativity.

There are six key differences between managing and leading (respectively):

  1. Commands vs Inspires
  2. Puts Tasks First vs People First
  3. Finds Excuses vs Solutions
  4. Thinks Short-Term vs Long-Term
  5. Creates Turnover vs Increased Loyalty
  6. Practices Toxic Accountability vs Balanced Accountability

Toxic accountability versus balanced accountability is important here. Many see accountability as a consequence of something going wrong as opposed to a tool that encourages results. However, we absolutely crave being held accountable. A Partners in Leadership study found that 82% of subjects claimed an inability to hold others accountable whereas 9 out of 10 employees listed accountability as a major developmental need in their organization. People want to be led. High turnover, poor performance, low engagement… these are all born from ineffective accountability and it points to a person in charge who is managing, not leading.

Everything I’ve learned (and now teach) about accountability came to me the hard way, and believe me, resisted it. It’s not easy to take responsibility for any type of failure – especially one that includes other people. I had to break a lot of habits, let go of a lot of fears, and learn to trust in the teams that I formed. I went from being nicknamed after one of the evilest men in human history (revealed in my book!) to becoming executive vice-president of a $3 billion company and receiving my most cherished accolade – a “Best Leader” award from my team.

Your employees want to succeed and contribute to a flourishing company. Who doesn’t? They’re looking to you for direction and an opportunity to rise to the occasion. Let them by opening up and changing the only person you can change: yourself. It’s time to stop managing and time to start leading.

About the Author:

Hernani Alves makes the most complex skill in business and life, awesomely simple.

Hernani started as a part-time employee and eventually grew to become the President of a $3 billion publicly traded Company that was regularly voted as Best Workplace. Today, he’s an author and an international speaker that helps leaders build world-class teams focused on getting results.

Hernani has been featured in:   Stanford University, University of California, Oklahoma State University, SHRM-Atlanta, iHeart Radio,HR.com, CEOWorld Magazine, Extreme Leadership, and more.

In his best selling book, Balanced Accountability: Three Leadership Secrets to Win Hearts and Maximize Performance, Hernani delivers clarity on the case for accountability and the steps organizations, and individuals need to take to unleash their potential. He reveals the frame work needed to improve accountability in the workplace to win hearts and maximize performance.

In his best-selling book, The Champion Advantage, Hernani delivers clarity on the case that we need to refocus and reset our lives.   He reveals the champion playbook to maximizing our controllables to get a head start to winning like a Champion.

To connect with Alves, visit his Website or LinkedIn Profile

How To Lead With Example

As Seen In Comstock Magazine – Business Insights

Here are seven personal accountability qualities for leaders

No one will ever own your victories but you. The flip side is that no one else owns your blunders, either. Famed San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Young threw 202 interceptions in his career. That’s 202 mistakes and 202 opportunities to blame his teammates, but it’s widely known that Young never did. Instead, he took responsibility for the games’ outcomes — win or lose.

It’s easy to blame other people or circumstances for shortcomings, but doing that strips you of your power and abilities. By owning your circumstances, visualizing your goals and changing when needed, you’ll find that success is yours for the taking. These seven traits are vital to accountability in becoming a champion leader.

Show love by helping others

When you are genuine about helping others, you show that their concerns are greater than your own. Become the leader your staff knows they can turn to for compassion, support and some tough love when they need it.

One of the best ways to win the hearts of your employees, or anyone for that matter, is to listen to them. You cannot learn anything if you’re always the one talking. Provide proof that you are listening by summing up what you gleaned from the other person’s words. That shows, one, you were paying attention, and two, it gives your colleague an opening to politely correct you if you misunderstood something. As you may have experienced yourself, it can be frustrating to share feedback with someone and never get indication that the person was listening to you.

Display honesty and transparency

Many times, people pay a lot more attention to how you make them feel than the actual words that come from your mouth. Strive to speak to your colleagues with authenticity and a recognition that you’re all on the same team, working toward the same goal. Of course, you should also watch how you word things, but being authentic is more important. You are gaining trust with your employees when you aren’t hiding anything from them.

Show humility and the will to apologize

Don’t let your ego get in the way of building strong relationships with others. Exhibiting humility shows your respect for the other person. You will not do everything perfectly or always know all the answers, but admitting this goes a long way with your team. It means you are willing to listen to other perspectives and shift your thinking or plans accordingly. It also means that when your team members mess up, they won’t be afraid to let you know so you can figure out a solution together.

Be proactive in preventing problems

A great leader knows how to recognize a small problem before it becomes a bigger one and takes action to prevent it from happening in the first place. Don’t look the other way when you see an issue brewing. Be willing to give others constructive criticism. But always do this in the privacy of a one-on-one conversation with an employee — not in front of the whole team. All that does is embarrass your staff member, which does nothing to get your point across.

Accept blame for your actions

Much like not finding excuses for your wrongdoings, do not hesitate to take the hit when you know you are wrong. Own up to when you’ve gotten angry or brushed off an important matter. It goes a long way with your employees when they see their leader take responsibility for their own actions.

Do what you say you will do

One of the most important qualities you can bring to your team is integrity. Keep appointments. Show you value other people’s time. Following through on commitments is critical. When you do this, you will see your team take the same regard you do in following through.

Return communication, including phone calls, texts and email

When you ignore someone’s request for information, it is subtly telling that person you don’t really care about their needs, whether you meant to or not. A straightforward way to be respectful is to address any correspondence in a timely manner. However, we all also have the right to set professional boundaries to honor our time and safeguard our work-life balance. So it’s fine if you prefer to not reply to emails during weeknights or on the weekends — just be sure you clearly state this expectation to your team. That helps them, because they won’t feel the need to burn themselves out after hours. When your team sees you living up to these standards, they will be inspired to improve themselves and perform better.

Your personal accountability is the best way to get a negative workplace back on track to positivity and winning. Implement these champion characteristics and see how the energy improves quickly at your organization.

Hernani Alves is a bestselling author from Sacramento and an international speaker who helps leaders build high-performing, loyal teams. Read more at HernaniAlves.com or Linkedin.com/in/hernani-alves.

How to Address Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Workplace

We are certainly seeing changes to our cultural landscape in a post-pandemic world. Those changes are also present in the workplace, since, as LinkedIn clearly states, “The workplace is a microcosm of a larger society.” People in society definitely have differing opinions on diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). As workplaces move forward to address these issues, they are keeping a few things in mind.

Companies Must Assess Where They Are

To determine where to focus your efforts and where the deficits are in your company in terms of DEIB, companies should conduct an assessment. This helps to ascertain the right resources, conditions, and even knowledge that are present within your company to facilitate changes in terms of inequities experienced.

Here are the following five essential categories to assess:

  • Employee Demographics – Track diversity of gender, race, years of service, and education.
  • Communication – Ability to communicate, build relations and inspire others.
  • Responsiveness – The ability to respond and pay attention to important employee challenges that arise.
  • Adaptability –   The flexibility for the employee to change their actions, course, or approach to doing things in order to suit a new situation.
  • Organizational Culture – The underlying beliefs, assumptions, values, and ways of interacting contribute to the organization’s unique social and psychological environment.

Activities, Coaching, and Events Must Focus on Culture.

After you assess where your company and employees are in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion, you can formulate a plan of action. For example, if your assessment reveals that your staff is uncomfortable speaking about racially charged topics, then it would be best if you had conversations around how critical it is for leaders to talk openly about race-related issues themselves. You would also hold workshops on related topics like microaggressions and efforts made in the past that have caused more harm than good.

Human Resources Focused on Humans First.

According to McKinsey.com, companies are more focused on humans rather than processes following the pandemic, which helps address DEIB issues. Many more employees are now working remotely, and that has challenged HR in new ways. Examples include how to onboard employees and mentor existing employees remotely. These issues must be addressed because, “research shows that relationships between employees and their colleagues are fundamental to job satisfaction and performance,” as stated on McKinsey.com.

Noble Leadership Adventures can play a key part in your organization by creating job satisfaction and performance and working on the issues of DEIB. They create a win-win scenario where the teams serve others in need. The secret to living is giving. True fulfillment does not lie in material possessions; instead, it’s in serving others first. Winston Churchhill said, “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” The fact is we need to give back, and we need to hold ourselves and each other accountable for doing so.

Noble Adventures offers your company’s highest talent an opportunity to further grow as leaders by building tighter teams. They provide exotic adventures that create transformational change through three pillars:

•         Professional Development – Through Experiential Learning

•         Service Project – Impact and Empower Others

•         Transformational Growth – Through Fun and Adventure.

Consider Churchill’s words and ask yourself, “What kind of life do I want to make?” Learn more about how to elevate your leadership skills at:  Noble-Adventures.com.

Learn more at:  Noble-Adventures.com

About the Author:

Hernani Alves makes the most complex skill in business, awesomely simple.

Hernani started as a part-time employee and eventually grew to become the Executive for a $3 billion publicly-traded company. Today, he’s an author and an international speaker that helps leaders build world-class teams focused on getting results.

Hernani has been featured in: Stanford University, University of California, Oklahoma State University, iHeart Radio, HR.com, CEOWorld Magazine, Extreme Leadership, and more.

In his book, Balanced Accountability: Three Leadership Secrets to Win Hearts and Maximize PerformanceAlves delivers a newfound clarity on the case for accountability and the steps organizations, and individuals need to take to unleash their potential. He reveals the frame work needed to improve accountability in the workplace to win hearts and maximize performance.

To connect with Alves, visit his Website or LinkedIn Profile.

Fact…Purpose Driven Companies Retain More Employees

Some organizations have a simplistic view of why their employees work.  Some think that money is the primary motivation to retain employees long-term. Think about mountain climbing. The activity can be a very challenging experience, and those who reach the summit want to go back and try it again. Why? The purpose was to climb to the top and overcome challenges along the way.  It’s not about the money at the top of the summit, which in most cases doesn’t exist.

An organization’s purpose is a simple sentence that is easy to remember and is why your organization exists beyond its’ profits.

Here are some notable examples:

  • Apple: To make the best products on earth, and to leave the world better than we found it.
  • Microsoft: To enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential.
  • Sweet Green: To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.
  • IKEA: To create a better everyday life for the many people.
  • Nordstrom: To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.

“The idea that a company should stand for something bigger than profit has a long history in the business. But in the last few years, it’s become central to the public dialogue,” says Mark Weinberger, Global Chairman, and CEO for Ernst & Young. “The hard part – the real test of an organization’s purpose – is figuring out how to make it more than just words in a memo. For the purpose to really matter, it needs to go beyond an initiative that sits on the margins of the organization.”

Supporting Employees Personal Lives

Harvard Business Review declares, “It’s become clear that supporting employees in their personal lives more effectively enables employees to not only have better lives, but also to perform at a higher level.” According to Fortune, these findings are consistent with the feedback from employees of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2020.

Companies with a strong sense of purpose are able to transform and innovate better. Executives who treat purpose as a core driver of strategy and decision-making reported a more significant ability to drive successful innovation and transformational change with consistent revenue growth.

In a study by the Harvard Business Review, 53% of executives who said their company has a strong sense of purpose stated that their organization is successful with innovation and transformation efforts.  Compared with only 31% percent of those trying to articulate a sense of purpose and 19% of the companies that do not have a purpose.

When a company declares its purpose and describes the why behind the organization, it gives employees not just a place to work but a reason to be there. When employees are looking for a company to devote their time to, they should find the organization’s purpose both motivational and inspirational. Will Staney, Founder & CEO of Proactive Talent says, “Hiring employees who understand and exemplify company values serves to reinforce the organization’s mission and vision and create a tighter team.” And when you create tighter teams, you retain employees.

 

Creating Experiential Proof

Noble Adventures, a leadership retreat company that offers your company’s best talent an opportunity to further grow as leaders by building tighter teams. The team at Noble Adventures are experienced leaders themselves who provide exotic adventures that create longlasting, transformational change through three pillars:

  • Personal & Professional Development – Through Hands-on Learning
  • Service Projects – Action-based projects that transform your teams’ lives and the lives of others
  • Local Adventures – Thrilling adventures that challenge and excite learners

Noble Adventures CEO, Christina Dyer’s mantra is “Grow the leader within while helping those without.” Win the hearts of your top best leaders and reward them with a Noble Adventure opportunity to help them grow and stay committed to your company’s purpose.  This will provide proof for your organization’s purpose and inspire employee retention.

Learn more at:  Noble-Adventures.com

About the Author:

Hernani Alves makes the most complex skill in business, awesomely simple.

Hernani started as a part-time employee and eventually grew to become the Executive for a $3 billion publicly traded Company. Today, he’s an author and an international speaker that helps leaders build world-class teams focused on getting results.

Hernani has been featured in: Stanford University, University of California, Oklahoma State University, iHeart Radio, HR.com, CEOWorld Magazine, Extreme Leadership, and more.

In his book, Balanced Accountability: Three Leadership Secrets to Win Hearts and Maximize Performance, Alves delivers a newfound clarity on the case for accountability and the steps organizations, and individuals need to take to unleash their potential. He reveals the frame work needed to improve accountability in the workplace to win hearts and maximize performance.

To connect with Alves, visit his Website or LinkedIn Profile.

Making a Dream Team with Peer to Peer Accountability

How to become a leader who wins hearts to maximize performance

By Hernani Alves
As featured in Comstock’s Magazine:

A great leader loves and respects their employees.

And a great leader recognizes that it is their job to uplift the team by holding everyone accountable and motivating them to strive for excellence.

Accountability is a powerful tool, but to be effective, it has to be rooted in love and desire to see your employees go further than yourself. Having a mindset of building up your team when they’re down and celebrating wins — big and small — for the hard-fought victories is key to making people successful.

There were many people who went out of their way to mentor and guide me, and I was able to work my way up from a part-time employee to executive of a large company. Over the years, I’ve studied and tested accountability techniques, and these three steps can improve your leadership capabilities and help create the dream team that you have always wanted — a team that is self-disciplined to embrace and hold each other accountable to maximize performance.

1. Personal accountability

To be a successful leader, before implementing anything into your workplace, you must work on improving yourself. Think about some of the best leaders you have worked with and all the traits you appreciated about them. You must become, in all aspects, a shining example of what your employees should strive to be when they come into the workplace every day. Anything short of that, and you’re quickly on the way to losing the respect and trust of anyone who works under your leadership.

When was the last time you asked your team what you as a leader can do more or less of to become the best leader possible for them? Add this question to your next one-on-one session with them, take notes when they give feedback and then apply them.

2. Positive accountability

The word “positive” has such a bad rap for being a “soft” way of leading. The “hard” bully types of managers will say the best way to lead a team is to be as rough as possible to weed out the weak employees. But that is a recipe for failure: No one will want to work with you. If you plan to rule with an iron fist so your employees fear you instead of respect you, you will see your turnover skyrocket.

Successful leaders give their teams an atmosphere of positivity, and this step is by far the easiest one to implement. All you really need to do is simply catch people doing things right and acknowledge them. Celebrate their wins, and give briefings to your employees. The positivity you radiate as a leader will spread to others, and they will want to follow you.

3. Performance accountability

When you reprimand someone and try to hold them accountable for their work, they will often put up a defensive barrier to shield themselves from what they feel as being ridiculed. That’s a natural reaction. To avoid putting your team members in a position where they feel ridiculed, you need to show your workers that you genuinely care about their individual goals and success.

Reprimands are what many people think of as accountability. However, holding someone accountable for their actions this way can invite your team to resist and resent your leadership. You don’t need shame to hold someone accountable. Performance accountability allows you to coach your staff, show them ways to improve and avoid the same errors instead of penalizing them for their missteps. Even Michael Jordan, arguably basketball’s greatest player, missed 9,000 shots during his career. If you were the Michael Jordan of your field, would you want your coach to severely punish you or coach you through so you don’t make similar mistakes in the future?

To lead is to motivate. Follow these three steps in order to guide your employees toward improvement and reliability. Jumping around may lead to missing the foundation needed to make this work. Without a strong footing based on your own accountability and positivity, focusing on performance will come across as strict and unreasonable. No one will want to work with you, and you can forget about your employees giving you their best effort.

Showing genuine loyalty to your team can influence the way they perform. It will prompt them to do better. You’ll win their hearts and raise their standards all in one go and create a high-performing dream team that will follow you anywhere.

Get Your Free Checklist to Creating Peer-to-Peer Accountability

Hernani Alves is a former executive of Sleep Train and Mattress Firm. He is the bestselling author of “Balanced Accountability” and an international speaker who helps leaders build high-performing, loyal teams. For more information, visit hernanialves.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INSPIRING PEER-TO-PEER Accountability – 10 traits to creating accountability and trust on your team.

“Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the ME for the WE.” – Phil Jackson, former NBA coach with 11 Championship titles, most in the NBA.

Phil Jackson is one of the best coaches the NBA has ever seen. He managed Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player in the world, and convinced him to embrace selflessness on the court (even if it meant losing a scoring title). Coach Jackson forged successful teams out of players with varying abilities by getting them to trust one another and perform in sync. He also inspired Dennis Rodman and other “uncoachable” personalities to devote themselves to something larger than themselves. He’s even responsible for transforming Kobe Bryant from a rebellious teenager to a mature leader of a championship team. He did a lot of this by building teams based on players trusting each other.

This is much like Peer-2-Peer Accountability which involves an environment where coworkers hold each other to a high standard of work—encouraging each other with constructive feedback and checking in with each other about reaching goals. It’s an action best built on the kind of trust Phil Jackson used to develop his successful teams. As a leader, look to channel your inner Phil Jackson. Coworkers trusting each other, and holding one other accountable starts with the leader as a role model.

The following ten traits are vital to accountability and trust and are critical to see coming from the top down.

  1. Displays Honesty and Transparency.

Many times, people pay a lot more attention to how you make them feel than the actual words that come from your mouth. Of course, you should watch how you word things, and being authentic is more important. You are gaining trust with your employees when you aren’t hiding anything from them.

  1. Show Humility and the Will to Apologize.

Exhibiting humility shows your respect for others. You will not do everything perfectly or always know all the answers, but admitting this goes a long way with your team. After all, we are all human, and it’s one of the few things we all share in common at the core.

  1. Provide Solutions and Not Excuses.

Everyone has reasons for doing what they do, but no one likes to hear excuses, so avoid using them. Instead, focus on how you can make the current situation better for your team. This type of leadership helps your team focus on the future and not feel defeated.

  1. Always Looking for Ways to Improve.

Along the same lines, look for ways to make yourself better. Could you learn to be a better leader? Speak more confidently or compassionately? The most significant investment you can ever make is in improving yourself. Go read a business book and then share what you learned with your team.  By doing so, you will inspire your employees to do the same.

  1. Be Proactive in Preventing Problems.

A great leader knows how to recognize a little problem before it becomes a bigger one and takes action to prevent it from happening. Don’t look the other way when you see an issue brewing. Be willing to give others tough love when needed. One way to do this is to keep your critical interactions with employees private and not to embarrass anyone in front of the whole team.

  1. Show Proof That You Are Listening.

Do you know one of the best ways to win the hearts of your employees, or anyone for that matter? Listen to them. You cannot learn anything if you’re always the one talking. Provide proof that you are listening.  As you may have experienced yourself before, it can be frustrating to share feedback with someone and never get any real response that the person was listening to you.

  1. Accept Blame for Your Actions.

Much like not finding excuses for your wrongdoings, do not hesitate to take the hit when you know you are wrong. As a father myself, I must own up to when I’ve gotten angry or brushed off an important matter. It goes a long way with your employees when they see their leader ‘take the hit’ for something they did.

  1. Do What You Say You Will Do.

One of the most important qualities you can add to your team is having integrity. Keep appointments and do not cancel at the last minute unless it’s a true emergency. Show you value other people’s time. Following through on small (and big) commitments is critical.   When you do this, you will see your team take the same urgency you do in following through.

  1. Show Love In Serving Others.

When you are genuine about helping others, you show that their concerns become greater than your own. Become the heart of your organization, and the leader your staff knows they can turn to for compassion, support, and some tough love when they need it.

  1. Return Communication Including Phone Calls, Texts, and Email.

Making sure you return all your correspondence is another way of exhibiting integrity. When you ignore someone’s request for information, it is subtly telling that person you don’t really care about their needs. A straightforward way to be respectful is to address any correspondence in a timely manner. If you must hire an administrative person to keep up because you receive so many calls, texts, and emails, it’s worth the extra investment.

In my book, Balanced Accountability, I talk about the 3Ps: Personal Accountability, Positive Accountability, and Performance Accountability. When it comes to Personal Accountability, you need first to hold yourself accountable as a leader. With Positive Accountability, showing positivity (for example, rewarding a job well done) inspires your team to work hard and makes them want to keep working for you. In Performance Accountability, it’s about creating a visible scoreboard to measure performance. It also involves coaching them without severely penalizing them for their mistakes. Michael Jordan missed more than 9,000 shots in his career.  Do you think Phil Jackson would severely punish Jordan every time he missed a shot?

Peer-2-Peer Accountability starts with you as their leader. When your team sees you living up to these standards, they’re inspired to improve themselves and perform better.

When you’re a leader, you should do just that: lead, not manage. Many years ago, we didn’t inspire our workforce in this way, and I would have been called crazy for promoting this kind of personal touch and positivity from the top down. Thankfully, that attitude is changing. Accountability is the best way to get a negative workplace back on track to positivity and winning.  Implement these characteristics and traits and see how the energy changes quickly at your car wash location.

Hernani Alves is an entrepreneur, business accountability expert, Amazon best-selling author, and speaker that helps leaders build world-class teams. In his book, “Balanced Accountability,” Hernani reveals the framework needed to improve workplace accountability by winning hearts to maximize performance.

Get Your Free Checklist to Creating Peer-to-Peer Accountability

Working Remotely: What To Do When You Experience Workplace Conflict.

Do you realize how common it is to have workplace conflict, even when working remotely? Recently (2021), My Perfect Resume surveyed 1,000 U.S. workers about the work conflicts they’ve experienced while working remotely. They found that “Eighty-one percent of remote professionals have experienced workplace conflict.”

First, what do we mean when we use the word “conflict?” The study found that lack of teamwork and general stress about work were common culprits. This was followed closely by rude behavior. Finally, lack of honesty, clash of values, and false accusations round out people’s troubles at work. This will poison organizations long term for their ability to maximize performance and improving workplace culture.

Peer and Manager Conflict

The majority of conflict people experience when working remotely is shown to be with coworkers. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said that it was with a peer when they had an altercation at work. What about battling with your boss? Nineteen percent reported they had the most issues with the manager directly over them.

Perhaps most disturbingly, thirty-six percent of those surveyed said their bosses had been too aggressive in their text messages with them. Almost seventy percent of that group claim their bosses have actually cursed at them in those messages. This is one of the fastest way to disengage employees and to motivate them to leave the organization.

1 in 5 Employees Quit

In the end, when confronted with conflict, many (about half) try to talk things out to resolve the issues. But, nearly a quarter just leave the matter alone and never address it, which could foster more significant problems in the long run. They are also losing one in five employees to a work conflict as they end up just quitting over the issue.

Dale Carlsen, CEO of Ticket to Dream and a great mentor of mine, shared some advice that I continue to use to this day. He attributes his success to his father, Paul’s advice, “Surround yourself with great people, treat them well and make everyone successful.”

It’s about building up your team when they’re down and celebrating their wins for the hard-fought victories that they have accomplished. This mindset is key to making people successful. Not always happy, but successful. For example: when I tell my kids to finish their chores, I’m teaching them to complete a job and to do it right. They may not be happy about it at that moment, but the habits they form now will lead them to success later. I do this for them out of love.

3Ps to Creating Your Dream Team Remotely

Accountability is a powerful tool, and to be effective, it has to be rooted in love. Additionally to motivate your employees to become greater than themselves. I had many people in my life that went out of their way to mentor and guided me towards developing my success.

The 3P’s of Balanced Accountability are techniques to improve yourself as a leader and create your dream team tribe that will follow you everywhere you go.

P1: Personal Accountability

It’s based on the concept that at their core, employees want to follow their bosses and be able to look up to them. Because of this, supervisors and those in charge must lead by example and be a guideline of how to handle yourself when working remotely. They also need to set the tone for the organization and not start any conflict themselves. This takes developing self-awareness on a manager’s part. As your team, what you can do “more” and “less” of as a leader for them.

P2: Positive Accountability

Positivity is how good managers became great leaders. Actions speak louder than words. It’s about being positive when there are great things going on, but it’s also about being realistic when there is hard work to do. Creating a more positive work environment reduces turnover (remember twenty percent of employees reported quitting overwork conflict). Leaders must own this and start looking for small wins to celebrate. Then magnify those small wins to create a team that wants to repeat that same action.

P3: Performance Accountability

This area is the one most think of when actually using the word; accountability. It’s about coaching your employees to better work performance. When they are winning at work, you win too, and so do the rest of the employees. This ties into conflict as well because you can coach your employees on how to best deal with conflict. For example, you can encourage employees to stop and address conflicts as soon as they arise rather than letting them fester or gossiping about them. Conduct one on ones remotely with your team at least once a month and limit yourself from ever rescheduling this meeting. If you do reschedule, your team will only see that there are other things more important than spending time with them.

Don’t Manage. Lead.

To lead is to motivate, and the 3Ps of Balanced Accountability are designed to help you guide your employees toward improvement and reliability. You’ll find that showing genuine loyalty to your team can influence the way they perform. It will prompt them to do better. You’ll win their hearts and raise their standards all in one go. Putting the 3Ps in action and making others successful, is how you go from having just an average team to creating a high-performing dream team that will follow you anywhere.

Hernani Alves is a business accountability expert, Amazon best-selling author, and speaker that helps leaders build world-class teams. In his book, Balanced Accountability, Hernani reveals the framework needed to improve accountability in the workplace by winning hearts to maximize performance.

 Get Your Free Checklist to Creating Peer-to-Peer Accountability

 Take a moment to send Hernani a message on LinkedIn.

Business Owners Live the Best Lives

Maximize Your Controllables

Business Owners and guests of Executive Forums Silicon Valley took an Escape from normal to learn, have fun, dine, and develop relationships. The venue was the wonderful Thomas Fogarty Winery Pavillion overlooking the entirety of Silicon Valley from the Woodside Hills. The members experienced an awesome day with temperatures in the 70s and crystal clear air allowing visibility from San Francisco to Freemont to San Jose.

The session started with a workshop from Hernani Alves, author of the Amazon best-selling book Balanced Accountability – 3 Leadership Secrets to Win Hearts and Maximize Performance.

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Mr. Alves challenged the leaders to understand that accountability is a learned habit that is rarely discussed and even more rarely never taught. Using examples from his experience as the CEO of a large retail store as well as his personal life, the concept of accountability as an expression of love was developed.

Accountability = Love is a theme that can be carried into all parts of the organization.

  • Love for the well being of the organization – company accountability
  • Love for the well being and success of the employee – personal accountability
  • Love for the success of the customer – when is the last time you thought about that!
  • Tough love for individuals when things are not going well

I highly recommend that you contact Hernani Alves (www.balancediq.com) to learn more about his workshops and how balanced accountability can be an advantage in your business.

After being cooped up in our offices, homes, and multiple Zoom sessions, the Escape participants were set into teams and charged to decode the clues, decipher the geography and solve the riddle to discover the treasure. After scouring the grounds of the winery to find all

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of the clues and solve all of the puzzles the teams discovered that Their Journey Together as Business Owner Peers was The Treasure.

After the prizes were distributed (everyone is a winner), the group enjoyed a great lunch and some members stayed to enjoy a special wine tasting while others took advantage of the day for a round of golf.

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A shout out to Kaitlin at the Thomas Fogarty Winery (www.fogartywinery.com) and Brittney at Continental Caterers (www.continentalcaterer.com) for helping to arrange a fantastic day.

Published by

Glenn Perkins

Glenn Perkins
I help Business Owners, CEOs, and Leadership Teams grow companies with Clarity, Insight, and Accountability using Executive Peer Groups, Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), Strategic Planning, and Executive Coaching.
Business Owners Live the Best Lives Business Owners and guests of Executive Forums Silicon Valley took an Escape from normal to learn, have fun, dine, and develop relationships. The venue was the wonderful Thomas Fogarty Winery Pavillion overlooking the entirety of Silicon Valley from the Woodside Hills.

Don’t do a SWOT for your business, instead do a TOWS Analysis

Only 92 days to 2021.

Yes, I’m counting down the days left in this crazy 2020 year.

And it’s not too late to play some offense and develop a strategy for 2021.

Here is a graph that shows one tech company’s annual revenues.

Can you guess the company?

Yes, that’s $20 Billion in revenues in 2011.

Seven years later, that same company was less than $1 Billion in 2018.

Ouch!  Does this roller coaster make you nauseous too?

Who is this company?

Wait for it….take a guess?  Clue, most of us probably owned one in 2011.

Wait for it….

…..BlackBerry

I remember telling a friend that I would NEVER get rid of my Blackberry.

One year later, in 2012, I purchased my first iPhone.

So what can we do to make sure our business doesn’t end up like BlackBerry?

This time of year, I take my clients through a TOWS Analysis.

TOWS???  It’s similar to a SWOT analysis, however backwards focus. 

TOWS stands for Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Strengths.  This technique is for assessing the four critical aspects of your business.

Most organizations focus so much of there energy on their Strengths and Weakness that they go through the motions for their Opportunities and Threats.

Why should Opportunities and Threats be your focus?

A pivotal reason for BlackBerry’s failure was their ignorance in choosing to stick with the keyboard (strength), while leaders like Apple provided a full touchscreen interface to which the smartphone was created.

Blackberry focused on its strength and didn’t focus on their threat that had just entered the market place.

Yes, you can do the TOWS, exercise yourself, and I encourage that you bring someone to help with your business planning.

Hire someone that can help you create critical stakeholders to own the outcome and hold the team accountable for making improvements.

Many times we have our blinders on and overlook key opportunities and threats right in front of us.

If you would like to learn more about how to do a TOWS analysis for your business, Schedule a Call

Stay Awesome with Love,

Hernani Alves
 Maximize Your Teams Performance –  Schedule a Call

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