The best way to build team accountability is to model it. Do what you say you will do. Team accountability starts with the leader. If the project manager delivers on her promises, the team takes note and the level of trust deepens. In his book It Worked For Me, Colin Powell says “everything you do as a leader has to focus on building trust in a team.”
The job of the project manager is to create an environment where the team members trust each other and their leader. We’ve got each other’s backs. We have the best interest of the team in mind. From this foundation of trust, the PM can encourage team members to speak up when someone is not pulling their weight or doing what they said they would do. This level of authenticity can be difficult to achieve but is a mark of the healthiest project teams. Simon Sinek describes authenticity this way: it “is when you say and do the things you actually believe.”
The best project managers lead teams who embrace open communications, clear expectations, candid discussions of responsibilities, and commitment to team plans. These teams hold each other accountable – their teammates and leaders – to do what they say they will do.