475: What to Hold People Accountable For, with Stacey Barr

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Jun 15, 2020

In this engaging discussion, Stacey Barr, a specialist in performance measurement and creator of the PuMP® methodology, challenges traditional views on accountability. Instead of focusing on quantitative results, she advocates for monitoring behaviors, interpretation of data, and taking action. Stacey reveals how misaligned accountability can lead to manipulation and undermines true performance, stressing the importance of intrinsic rewards and fostering a culture of curiosity. Her insights encourage leaders to cultivate an environment that champions continuous improvement and employee engagement.

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ADVICE

Avoid Target-Based Accountability

Avoid holding individuals accountable for hitting targets.
This leads to manipulation, excuses, and choosing easy targets, ultimately hindering performance.

ADVICE

Accountability for Monitoring

Hold people accountable for monitoring important results.
Ensure the right measures are designed, data is collected routinely, and performance is tracked over time.

ANECDOTE

Monitoring Product Quality

A factory team began monitoring product quality, including defects per product.
This allowed them to track performance and identify areas for improvement.

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Stacey Barr: Practical Performance Measurement

Stacey Barr is a specialist in strategic performance measurement and evidence-based leadership. She is the creator of PuMP®, a performance measurement methodology that routinely transforms measurement cynics into its greatest advocates.

Stacey is also the author of two books, Practical Performance Measurement: Using the PuMP® Blueprint for Fast, Easy, and Engaging KPIs, and Prove It!: How to Create a High Performance Culture and Measurable Success.

In the conversation, Stacey and I explore the struggles of holding people accountable for quantitative results, including behaviors that often lead to unintended consequences. Instead, she invites leaders to hold people accountable for monitoring, interpretation, and action.

Key Points

Holding people accountable for quantitative results tends to lead employees to:

Choosing measures of what they are already good at
Choosing easy targets
Manipulating the numbers to make the measures look good
Having lots of excuses for why targets are missed

Our typical definition of accountability drives the wrong behavior.

Instead, hold people accountable for:

Monitoring the important results: when someone is responsible for a specific business result, like problem resolution or accuracy of advice or eliminating rework, they can be accountable for routinely monitoring that result with a performance measure.
Interpreting their measures: when someone is responsible for monitoring a performance measure, they can be accountable for interpreting what that measure is telling them about the business result it measures.
Initiating action when action is required: when someone is responsible for interpreting a performance measure, they can be accountable for deciding what kind of action is needed, if at all.

Resources Mentioned

Download a free copy of Stacey’s book, Practical Performance Measurement
What is a KPI Owner Accountable For? by Stacey Barr
Measure For Collaboration, Not Competition by Stacey Barr
Case Study: Reducing Administrative Waste With a Single Powerful Performance Measure by Stacey Barr
Reach out to Stacey with questions at info@staceybarr.com

Book Notes

Download my highlights from Practical Performance Measurement in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

Effective Delegation of Authority, with Hassan Osman (episode 413)
Performance Measurement That Gets Results, with Stacey Barr (episode 419)
How to Balance Care and Accountability When Leading Virtually, with Jonathan Raymond (episode 464)

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