The AL Model for Organizational Leadership describes components we have identified as necessary for effective accountable leadership to take place within organizations.
Component 1: The Accountable Leader’s Mindset
Accountable Leaders …
- Understand and acknowledge the full scope of their influence and responsibility
- Are able to understand and identify positive and negative outcomes for the people they lead and serve, and
- Are motivated and able to develop an authentic-to-self approach to creating or avoiding those outcomes.
Component 2: The Accountable Leader’s Behaviours
AREA ONE
Focusing On and Creating Outcomes
Leaders place greater emphasis on the producing the expected outcomes than on addressing the perceptions of the outcomes that shape perception.
Averting Crisis
Leaders identify, acknowledge and resolve problems that exist, acknowledge risks, and implements risk mitigation strategies to minimize negative outcomes.
Possessing Vision
Leaders develop and communicate a clear idea of the destination in terms of growth, a response to changing business requirements and providing greater value, persuading others to come along and take appropriate actions.
AREA TWO
Being the Boss
Leaders are comfortable making use of their authority, utilizing their right to give orders, make final decisions, and ensure the compliance of their employees, while maintaining positive relationships.
Rising to the Challenge
Leaders are self-aware and are motivated and able to move past self-interest, limitations, taking advantage of opportunities to grow, improve leadership approach and provide greater value to those they lead and serve.
Fostering Loyalty and Engagement
Leaders are able to effectively demonstrate the value of employee contributions showing an understanding of how what is brought to the table strengthens them, the team and the organization.
Developing Bonds of Trust
Leaders build trust between themselves and those their lead and serve, as well as facilitate trust amongst those they lead and serve.
AREA THREE
Building Bridges & Eliminating Silos
Leaders exemplify the creation of positive inter-team relationships at the managerial level, and encourages employees to develop positive, supportive, mutualistic and cooperative inter-team relationships with other functional areas.
Managing Conflict
Leaders observe and take a proactive approach to resolving conflict, and avoid contributing to the development of intra-team and inter-team conflict.
Empowering Ethical Productivity
Leaders are able to empower employees to be both productive and successful without being at odds with company culture and ethical stances.
Component 3: The Accountable Leader’s Environment
The Accountable Leader’s Environment refers to anything external to the individual that can either improve or hinder their leadership potential and ability to take the necessary actions to achieve necessary outcomes. Generally, this refers to an organization’s or institution’s treatment of its culture, approaches and processes, and resources that have an impact on leadership selection, performance, assessment and development.
We outline key examples in our post, “How Systems and Organizations Can Undermine Effective Leadership“.
An environment conducive to an accountable leader’s emergence and success:
- DEFINES LEADERSHIP – Sets clear leadership and management standards
- ASSESSES LEADERSHIP – Assesses leadership potential and evaluates performance against expected outcomes
- SUPPORTS LEADERSHIP – Identifies and bridges leadership skill gaps for new, and newly promoted leaders, and provides the environment of leaders to attain the necessary outcomes
Accountable Leadership 