Leadership and Accountability Practices

There’s a lot of buzz about “founder mode” and how to scale an organization effectively. While I’m not the founder of Snowflake, I’ve been a founder before, and now my focus is on scaling a rapidly growing business. Here’s what “founder mode” means to me: When I became CEO of Snowflake, I understood the importance of a relentless growth mindset. What worked yesterday may not work today. To be a high growth company, you need to reinvent constantly for the new reality, and complacency is not an option. To achieve this level of dynamism, accountability and transparency are non-negotiable. Accountability means setting clear objectives and rigorously tracking progress. I ask my teams for daily updates on our key goals—whether it’s sales, product delivery, or company OKRs. This keeps us proactive, addressing potential issues before they escalate and ensuring we stay true to our commitments. It’s not about micromanagement, it’s about everyone feeling involved and accountable. While we embrace risk, we dig deep early and often, making adjustments as needed. Transparency means that everyone should operate with the same information. There is no “managing up” at Snowflake. Decisions are made as a team, with everyone holding equal information. And our conclusions are based on facts rather than opinions. I firmly believe you must “trust but verify” - this helps us make decisions in predictable ways. Finally, growth depends on investing in people and providing opportunities. We’ve all reached our positions because someone took a chance on us. When hiring, I prioritize drive and adaptability. I seek team players who are committed to collective success, rather than individual gain. People are the bedrock of your operation and this investment in them and in the team is what helps you scale successfully.

A few weeks ago I posted about the quiet "takedowns" of high-performing talent, especially women, inside organizations. It struck a chord. The response was overwhelming. Tens of thousands of views and my DMs full of women (and a few men!) from around the world who reached out to share personal stories of being sidelined, overburdened, lied to, gaslit, and ultimately pushed out—not for underperforming, but for being too honest, too bold, too willing to challenge the status quo, too unwilling to play along. Listening to their stories in an effort to help others has been an incredible privilege. That got me thinking: How are Boards assessing the true cost of this behavior? Because while these takedowns might be invisible to most, they leave a trail: - Severance and legal settlements buried in G&A or hidden in a different P&L - Leadership tables that are suddenly younger and less diverse - Costs related to recruiting and onboarding replacements (often more than one!) - Loss of institutional knowledge and momentum - Erosion of culture, innovation, and trust - Leaders who consistently churn talent but escape scrutiny Boards are responsible for more than financial performance—we're stewards of people, reputation, and long-term value. If we’re not asking the right questions, we might be missing the red flags that are eroding performance from the inside out. Questions worth asking in the boardroom: - As executives are hired, what reputation do they bring with regard to talent?  - How are executive turnover patterns being monitored and explained? - How are executives measured with regard to talent? - How is the organization surfacing cultural risks in a way the board can see? - Are we rewarding leaders who build resilient, trust-based teams—or just those who hit short-term targets? It’s time to connect the dots between talent risk and enterprise value. What else would you want Boards to ask? #BoardOversight #Governance #ExecutiveAccountability #WorkplaceCulture #TalentRisk #WomenInLeadership

Managers: Your team isn't afraid of accountability. They're afraid of you. If you want to demand ownership, Make ownership safe. Here are 10 practical ways to build accountability -  Without creating fear: 1) Normalize mistakes ↳Treat errors as part of the process, not a personal failure 2) Ask before you assume ↳"Help me understand what happened" works better than "Why did you mess this up?" 3) Praise learning, not just results ↳Recognize when someone owns a mistake and applies the lesson 4) Be transparent about your own errors ↳Model what healthy accountability looks like 5) Focus on fixing, not shaming ↳Solutions, not scapegoats: ask, "What would you do differently next time?" 6) Reward ownership ↳If someone steps up, back them up 7) Clarify what success looks like ↳Vague expectations make blame more likely 8) Use feedback to build, not break ↳Your words should sharpen, not shatter 9) Protect people publicly ↳Correct in private - support in public 10) Don't overreact to small errors ↳Save the alarm for when it really matters Accountability grows in cultures of trust, not punishment. Want more ownership? Start by making it safe to own something. Which of these do you think is most important? --- ♻️ Repost to help more managers get this right. And follow me George Stern for more practical leadership content. 

Org charts suck. Sorry, not sorry. At best, they describe who reports to to who. At worst, people build fiefdoms and engage in politics to "protect" their role. In the startups I've been involved with, we've rolled out and maintained EOS' accountability charts multiple times, and I'm such a fan of this model. The Accountability Chart starts with "what does the company need to be successful," groups those accountabilities into "seats," and then asks, "who is going to sit on that seat and be accountable?" As you can see in this whiteboard, I'm describing the seats in terms of what the company needs, not titles. You can further see people sitting on multiple seats (you can sit on multiple seats, but you CANNOT have multiple people sitting on the same seat). Yes, people have to have titles. Just suggesting that those come last. Here's the process: 1) Clear the Decks! This doesn't mean fire everyone. This means give yourself the freedom to ignore the org chart of the sake of the exercise. Think of it as asking the entire soccer team to clear the field so that you can reevaluate what we need to win the next game, and who, regardless of formal position or title, might be best suited to fill that role. 2) Write down everything required in each function to be successful. Product should list "all the stuff" that it takes to dream up the product, specify what needs to be built, monitor adoption of features, etc. Most functional managers finish after about 10 minutes of white boarding. 3) Prioritize the "Stuff." Finance, for example, should monitor industry trends (such as interest rates and changes in accounting principles), but that's a far lesser priority than maintaining the budget and the financial model so that we know if we have enough money to continue operations, etc, etc. Simply mark each item as H/M/L (hi, med, low). 4) Organize the "Stuff" into Seats. You know everything the company needs to do to be successful, and what's most important. Start logically grouping things into seats. Monitoring website traffic, running digital advertising, and posting to social may all logically go together and fit under "Get Leads." It's ok to consolidate a bit, and it's ok to drop stuff of low importance. Prioritization is the art of saying no. 5) Put People on the Seats. Now that you have it laid out well, ask who will cover the seats. In this fictional example, I'm imagining that Susan, the visionary founder came up with the idea, and in this stage of the business needs to shape the product, so she sits on two seats. Ashraf is a marketer at heart, but has run small teams in the past, is highly empathic, and good at problem solving, so at this stage of the business, we'll have him cover both "get leads" and "keep the customers." 6) Our next step will be to ask each team member if they "Get it? Want it? Capable?" More on this later... it's an important step. Have you done Accountability Charts? What was your experience?

Great leaders take responsibility when there is blame and stay in the background when there is praise. I've worked with leaders at Harvard and Amazon who embodied this principle, and they transformed entire teams with this simple practice. True leadership isn't about taking credit—it's about taking responsibility. Here's why exceptional leaders embrace accountability: 1/ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁. ↳ By absorbing blame, they create psychological safety. ↳ Team members feel protected, not exposed. 2/ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. ↳ Sharing credit empowers team members to step up. ↳ They create visibility opportunities for their people. 3/ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲. ↳ They say "I made a mistake" not "the team failed". ↳ They use "we succeeded" not "I succeeded". 4/ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. ↳ Their confidence doesn't depend on public recognition. ↳ They know their value beyond external validation. 5/ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. ↳ Their example sets the standard for everyone. ↳ The entire team learns to focus on solutions, not blame. Remember: How leaders handle failure and success reveals their true character. Anyone can look good during victories. But great leaders shine brightest when things go wrong. 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

✅ Yourself: "Why owning mistakes is the path to growth + leadership" As a human (and a coach), I've experienced missteps, blunders, and embarrassing moments. How we respond to these inevitable mistakes often says more about our character than the mistakes themselves. Getting caught up in self-flagellation, making excuses, or trying to cover our tracks is easy. But owning our mistakes head-on is one of the most influential #leadership skills we can cultivate. Here are 5 proven ways to own your mistakes and use them as springboards for growth: 1.) Admit Fault Promptly and Sincerely: Rip the Band-Aid off quickly, take full responsibility, and don't make excuses. A simple, heartfelt "I made a mistake, and here's what I'm going to do to fix it" can go a long way. 2.) Examine the Root Causes: Dig deeper to understand what led to the misstep. Identifying the underlying causes will help prevent similar errors in the future. 3.) Outline a Constructive Plan of Action: Present a clear, proactive plan for addressing the issue and making amends. This shows that you are committed to fixing the problem. 4.) Seek Feedback and Input: Invite others to provide honest feedback on your proposed solution. This outside perspective can uncover blind spots. 5.) Follow Through with Discipline and Transparency: Stick to the plan, be accountable for your progress, and keep stakeholders informed. Consistency and transparency will rebuild trust and respect. KEY TAKEAWAY: The reality is that we'll all mess up at some point. However, how we respond can either erode or cement our credibility as leaders. By owning our mistakes head-on, we model the vulnerability, resilience, and commitment to continuous improvement that inspires others. Coaching works; let's work together. | Follow Joshua Miller #joshuamiller #executivecoaching #coachingtips #mindset #performance #leadership #upskill #careeradvice #getahead #success #character

Every team I’ve worked with or advised wants accountability. No surprise—it’s key to high performance. The challenge is that accountability is hard to achieve. One big reason is that too many teams and leaders treat it as a binary switch—you either have it, or you don’t. That’s a mistake. Accountability exists on a spectrum. And if we want people to own problems, solve them, and inspire others, we need to help them climb the Accountability Ladder. Bruce Gordon, former President and CEO of the NAACP, first described the “Accountability Ladder” as an eight-rung progression—shifting from a victim mentality (unaccountable) to an empowered mindset (accountable). The lower four rungs represent victim behaviors—things happen to you. (1) Denial – Pretending there is no problem and ignoring it. (2) Blaming Others – Recognizing the issue but shifting responsibility to someone else. (3) Excuses – Avoiding responsibility by citing confusion or incompetence. (4) Wait & Hope – Knowing there’s a problem but choosing not to act. The top four rungs represent accountable behaviors—things happen because of you. (5) Acknowledge Reality – Letting go of magical thinking and being realistic about circumstances. (6) Own It – Taking responsibility and honoring commitments. (7) Find Solutions – Actively seeking solutions, even if not directly in control. (8) Implement Solutions – Taking action and ensuring follow-through. The real shift happens when accountability stops being a demand and starts being a shared mindset. Watch Bruce Gordon explain it here. (video from https://lnkd.in/eu_4gZQ4) #accountability #collaboration #teams #highPerformance #leadership #learning #solutions

The strongest leaders I know have one thing in common… They’re not afraid to say these three words: “I screwed up.” One of my bosses once stopped a high-stakes meeting cold with those exact words. No excuses. No deflection. Just: “I screwed up. Here’s what happened. Here’s how we’ll fix it.” In that moment, he didn’t lose the room. He earned its respect. We started bringing forward problems earlier. Solving them faster. Owning our work more fully. Because vulnerability…real, humble accountability… is a leadership multiplier. Here’s what it does: → It breaks down walls between “leadership” and “the team” → It gives others permission to own their mistakes, too → It shifts people from fear-based compliance to trust-based commitment The irony? Leaders who try to look bulletproof often come off as insecure. Want to lead like that? No! Try this instead: 1. Admit when you mess up. Accountability builds trust faster than perfection ever could. 2. Share what you’re learning… not just what you’ve mastered. 3. Ask real questions like: “What am I missing?” or “How could I have handled that better?” 4. Normalize “smart mistakes.” Teams that can discuss failure without fear are the ones that grow. The best teams I’ve worked with weren’t led by perfect people… They were led by real ones… honest ones. Psychological safety isn’t soft. It’s how high-performing teams are built. What would shift if you led with that kind of strength today? ⸻ Follow me (Jon Macaskill) for leadership insights, wellness tools, and real stories about humans being good humans. And yeah… feel free to repost if someone in your life needs to hear this. 📩 Subscribe to my newsletter here → https://lnkd.in/g9ZFxDJG You’ll get FREE access to my 21-Day Mindfulness & Meditation Course—packed with actionable tools to lead with clarity and resilience.

Do you lead from the buddy box? To develop greater judgment and effectiveness in helping others perform and progress, keep two factors in mind: affiliation and accountability. Affiliation: Your ability to cultivate and maintain strong relationships with others. Accountability: How you make people answerable for the responsibilities you delegate to them. Four different combinations are possible. I see these patterns in leaders everywhere. Three of the four patterns are dysfunctional and reflect poor judgment by the leader. Pattern 1: The Buddy. The buddy profile is a leader who usually builds strong relationships with people (high affiliation) but doesn’t hold them accountable for their performance (low accountability). We often see this profile in sales organizations, where a sales manager connects well with the team but hesitates when there’s a performance issue. Leaders in the “buddy box” want to be liked and shrink from the task of holding others accountable. Relationships rank higher than responsibility. They mistakenly believe that if they have to hold someone accountable, it will ruin the relationship. Pattern 2: The Absentee Landlord. The lower-left quadrant combines low affiliation and low accountability. The attitude of the absentee landlord is “I’m not there and I don’t care.” Control is not the guiding impulse for the absentee landlord, but rather freedom from responsibility. The absentee landlord delegates, but does not follow up. They often live under the false assumption that organizations can run themselves and that high performance can be self-executing. Or they’re simply checked out. It’s excruciatingly painful to be led by an absentee landlord because, for people who are striving, no criticism at all is the hardest thing to bear. Pattern 3: The Micromanager. The micromanager is the leader who refuses to delegate and empower, marked by low affiliation and high accountability. Logically, we micromanage when we don’t have confidence that another person can do the job. But if a person can do the job, why would we still micromanage them? Either we’re insecure in our ability to give up control, or we cling to it out of an overabundant ego. In either case, we retard growth, breed dependency, and send a clear signal of no confidence. Pattern 4: The Empowering Leader. The fourth category is a combination of high affiliation and high accountability, or what I call the empowering leader. To develop their people, they do two things: First, they cultivate a genuine personal relationship with the person they are helping develop. Out of that friendship grows a sense of stewardship and a desire to invest in their development. Second, they hold their people accountable. They expect them to perform and they follow up to ensure that they do. This combination of high affiliation and high accountability creates exponential effectiveness. Use this matrix as you think about your roles and responsibilities.

If you promise an employee a raise or promotion, don’t act like you’re doing them a favor by moving it forward. Promises are obligations. You signed up for the work. Now, get the job done. Leaders should be professionally embarrassed when employees must chase them down and ask for what’s already been promised. The employee did their part first. It’s your turn to step up. If a team member wasn’t fulfilling their obligations, you’d put them on a PIP. Don’t act like dragging your feet is acceptable or their persistence is inappropriate. It’s hard to advocate for a promotion or raise, but that’s your job. You're not a leader if you don’t have the ability to follow through on your commitments. Step aside and let someone capable take over. Leadership requires accountability in both directions. Values like transparency, trust, and integrity require actions to back up the flowery language. If HR, payroll, or accounting are slow-rolling, escalate and light a fire. “There’s a lot of red tape.” Then you should have started sooner. Don’t make excuses. Model the behaviors and standards you hold your team accountable for. Employers have bargaining power, but leaders should have dignity and hold themselves to a higher standard. Manager, director, VP, or CxO titles are earned through action. Annual review season is right around the corner. Start advocating now so you can honor your promises. #Leadership #Ethics