Who Are You? Are You Accountable? by Sam Silverstein

Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash 

You and I are living through a strange time, a time that will be written about in history books for decades and centuries to come. We are living through a time when the pressures and challenges we face are causing many among us to choose to perpetuate cycles of fear, anger, and greed. Yet this is also a time when others around us are just as prominently motivated by choices that sustain love, compassion, and generosity in their lives and the lives of those around them. 

Make no mistake: These are not easy times in which we find ourselves. These are times when our character is being tested. These are times that produce extreme responses. And each of our responses is the answer to a critical question: Who are you and what do you believe? 

It is worth remembering as we navigate these times that it is always up to us to choose the responses we will make to the challenges we face. We always have a choice about how we will respond. We always get to choose who we are and what we believe. All of our responses to a situation say exactly who we are and what we believe. 

We always get to choose the Source of our beliefs and values—it may be the Bible, it may be the Quran, it may be the Torah, it may be The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It may be the silent question “What would my grandfather do in this situation?” To be defendable, our Source and our belief system must value people and respect the rights of others. But the point is, we must choose to follow that Source once we identify it. We always have a choice about what voices and influences we are going to listen to when it comes to deciding what we really stand for…and where we draw the lines of right and wrong in our life. 

We always get to choose whether our words and actions align with what we say we believe. When we ignore our Source and make decisions that do not align with our best selves, we make the world a darker, more dangerous place, and we make our lives smaller and more self-absorbed. On the other hand, when we choose words and actions that align with our most deeply held beliefs, we deepen our character, we make the world a better place, and we are better positioned to serve the larger human family. 

We always get to choose whether we are focusing on things we can control or on things we cannot control. When we choose to focus on that which we cannot control, we make excuses. When we choose to focus on that which we can control, we make decisions and we move forward in our lives.   

We always get to choose the commitments we will make, and honor, in our relationships. When we make commitments but fail to honor them, we damage our relationships and undermine our own sense of whom we are meant to be. When we open ourselves up to making and keeping relational commitments—commitments that serve others and support our connections to people—something extraordinary happens. Eventually, someone we have touched in a positive way tells us about the impact we have had on their life, the obstacles we have helped them to overcome, and the contributions we have inspired them to make. When that happens, we know we are on the right track. 

Our actions, our focus, and our commitments tell the world who we really are and what we really believe. We always get to choose the person we will share with the larger world. As we look for ways to make sense of the many challenges that lie before us in 2020 and beyond, let’s be absolutely certain we are sharing the highest and best expressions of ourselves with the rest of the human family. 

Sam Silverstein is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives, transform the way they do business, and create a more accountable world. He helps companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. His newest book, The Accountability Circle: Discovering Your True Purpose, Potential, and Impact with Accountability Partnerships, is available from Sound Wisdom on November 9, 2020. Preorder it now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, or Porchlight Books. You can follow Sam on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. This article originally appeared here on The Accountability Blog. 

Your Best People Are Leaving…and I Know Why by Sam Silverstein

Your organization is in crisis. A key person—or maybe a bunch of people—just left, and now you’re struggling to deal with the consequences. 

Before you talk yourself into believing that you’re the victim here, let me suggest some tough questions. Please answer them honestly. 

• Are you personally committed to telling your people the truth? How does your team know for sure? What evidence do they have to the contrary? 

• Are you personally committed to standing by your people, even when all hell breaks loose? How does your team know that for sure? What evidence do they have to the contrary? 

• Are you personally committed to making sure your word is your bond? How does your team know for sure? What evidence do they have to the contrary? 

I work with a lot of leaders. One of the things I find consistently is that when key people in the organization leave unexpectedly, this has less to do with the employee’s level of commitment than it does with the leader’s level of commitment—usually in one, two, or all three of the areas you just read. 

Consider: When someone doesn’t tell us the truth about problems that are holding back their team…whose fault is that, ultimately? Who is supposed to model the commitment of telling the truth, even when the truth hurts? We are. 

When someone walks away from the organization when all hell breaks loose, whose fault is that really? The leader’s, of course. That’s who’s supposed to show what total commitment during tough times looks like. 

When someone says they want to stay on as a contributor in a key position long enough to finish a strategically important project…and then walks away in the middle of that project to go work for a competitor, whose fault is that, ultimately? Well—who hired that person, or set the process for hiring? Even more importantly, who is supposed to live the commitment, day in and day out, of one’s word being one’s bond? Obviously, it’s the leader. 

Your key people are leaving because of a lack of accountability. And that starts at the top, with the way the leader thinks about the people in the organization. Accountability is the highest form of leadership. When it isn’t there…the best people leave.  

Key people leave because they don’t enjoy the people they work for—meaning the leadership. They leave because they don’t enjoy the working environment—which is the responsibility of leadership and which connects directly to leadership’s perceived willingness to be personally accountable for fulfilling important commitments. And they leave because they can’t achieve the mission they’re supposed to achieve—because they’re constantly being undermined by leadership that doesn’t tell the truth, won’t stand by them, and doesn’t live by “my word is my bond.” 

Those are all things that the leader can and must control. 

When the leader is personally committed in each of these three areas, as well as others just as important, guess what happens? People bust their humps to avoid letting the leader down…even if the competition offers them more money and better benefits to jump ship. 

So, consider. Maybe it’s not really about them lying to you. Maybe it’s not really about them walking away from you when things get tough. Maybe it’s not really about them failing to honor their word. Maybe it’s actually about the quality of the relationship you were committed to. Maybe that relationship wasn’t strong enough for them to want to stay on your team, for them to believe they had a future with you. 

If that hurts to read, then that probably means this article is worth reading again. When you’re done, e-mail me at info@samsilverstein.com for some ideas on how to turn things around. 

This article originally appeared here on www.samsilverstein.com. 

Sam Silverstein is dedicated to empowering people to live accountable lives, transform the way they do business, and create a more accountable world. He helps companies create an organizational culture that prioritizes and inspires accountability. Pick up a copy of his most recent book in the No More Excuses series, No Matter What: The 10 Commitments of Accountability. You can follow Sam on Twitter @SamSilverstein,  Facebook @SilversteinSam,  Instagram @samsilverstein, and YouTube @samsilverstein. 

Character vs. Strategy by Simon T. Bailey

In life there are moments that create a cause for a pause. Here’s one that I just had to share with you. 

A while back, I was sitting in a board meeting for one of the non-profit organizations I serve, and the president and founder posed this question: “In business, which one is more important—character or strategy?” 

Everyone around the table chimed in and gave an opinion. It was evenly split down the middle. 

However, the president said that character is more important than strategy. A profound silence swept through the room as we waited to hear his rationale. 

He then said, “Anyone can come up with a strategy, but if they lack character, it is nothing more than a man in an empty suit with a hallowed soul.” I sat there in astonishment doing my best to process the deeper meaning. And then I had an epiphany: 

Character is forged when no one is looking. 

Character is doing the work of work for no prize at all. 

“A person of character is willing to do the right thing and walk alone than to do the wrong thing in order to follow the crowd.” 

I’ve discovered people over the years who talk a good game. They can blow smoke in your ears and do everything they can to see and be seen. They want everyone to know that they are important, smart, and special. 

I was that foolish person once upon a time. 

Then one day, I met a man of impeccable character. He was the type of person who gets personally invited to the White House. As I watched him from afar, he walked into the room and didn’t make a big fuss or a scene. 

His presence spoke volumes, and I learned that when you are “the man,” you don’t have to tell people that you’re the man. Your very essence will speak louder than words. 

Be mindful of a person whose mouth runs faster than their mind. True character speaks less and listens more. 

That man invited me to join this non-profit board, and my life has never been the same. 

The original post appeared here on Simon T. Bailey’s website and has been slightly modified for republication. For more inspiration from the author, pick up a copy of his books Shift Your Brilliance: Harnessing the Power of You, Inc. and Brilliant Living: 31 Insights to Creating an Awesome Life.