In the beginning of anything new there is empty space. There are empty closets or unallocated time or a lack of systems to tell us how to do something. We create what fills that space and we grow in the process. But then our space is full and we stop growing. We have our systems and we continue to implement them not even questioning if there is a better way. When our space is full there is no room for growth or improvement.

Somehow in our lives and in our careers we need to find a way to create space. Our ability to innovate, our ability to grow and our entire future is based on how we manage and create space. There are three things you can do immediately to create the space you need to grow and improve.

What can you eliminate?
Look at what you are spending your time on and ask yourself, “What can I stop doing?” Everything you stop doing creates time and space. It is far easier to say “yes” then it is to say “no” and we end up in time being over committed. It feels great when you start saying “no” and eliminate time consuming activities.

Evaluate All Systems and Policies
List all the systems you employ. Most organizations have a sales system, a billing system, customer service procedures, hiring procedures, manufacturing steps and more. Each month take one system or procedure and analyze it from scratch to see if there is a better way based on new ideas, people or technology. Ask yourself, “If we were to design this today how would we do it?” You might be amazed to find out how streamlined, customer focused or more efficient you can be.

Delegate
Maybe you’re doing some things that are important but could be accomplished by someone else. By delegating to others you are training them to take on additional responsibility and at the same time positioning yourself to take on other growth oriented activities. Always delegate authority with the responsibility so you are not micromanaging and make sure that the resources necessary to do a great job are there.

As you create more space, spend time determining what you can do to deliver more value for your organization and allow you to grow as an individual at the same time.

What can we do in 90 seconds that will change our life? What action can we take? Who can we connect with? What project can we start? What project can we complete? What lifetime of preparation can we put into motion that could literally change our life?

This isn’t something that just happens on television. This is real world. Each and every day I see people who finally stand up and say, “No More Excuses.” They determine for themselves that they must be accountable for their choices, actions, and results. Their achievements are amazing. They impact the world around them, and they literally change their life. These people do not possess any unusual skills. They simply decide to become accountable.

When we take stock of our situation in life, and take charge of our destiny then we empower ourselves to be the best we can be. Ultimately, in life you will become everything you dream of becoming except for the excuses you make. What are you going to do in the next 90 seconds?

Accountability doesn’t work when it doesn’t flow from the top.  Printing the word on a piece of paper that is circulated to staff and clients does not create accountability.  Demanding that everyone within the organization is more accountable won’t get much in the form of results.

Accountability only works when it starts at the top.  The leader in any organization must be the first person to step forward and be accountable.  They must be the first person that shows they value everyone around them.  They must be the first person that leads by serving.

When the CEO of an organization sets the pace then, and only then, can we expect the executive team to follow along.  It is then the CEO’s responsibility to make sure that everyone on his or her team sees what is modeled, understands it and lives it.  Once the executive team is living and modeling accountability then we can expect the leadership team that reports to them to be accountable.  It is the responsibility of everyone on the executive team to make sure that everyone reporting to them both understands what is being modeled and lives it.  And so it goes.

The goal is to start at the top and model the desired attribute and then help others live that attribute as well.  Great organizations have great leaders and the ideals and philosophies of those leaders cascade down through the organization.  We can never ask of anyone else what we are not willing to do ourselves.

The other killer of accountability is that accountability is an absolute.  We cannot be accountable “some of the time.”  Accountability is an all or nothing set of beliefs and actions.  The problem with some leaders is that they make exceptions.  Some rules are not made to be broken or even stretched.  Accountability is one of them.  If you value people you value them all of the time.  If you serve others and not your ego then that is the way you always are.  It is the “grey” area that trips up many leaders.

People find security in absolute.  Our commitment to accountability must be absolute.  We master it, model it and mentor it to those around us.  When we are living an accountable life then we can ask more of others and we step up to help them as well.  Only then does accountability really work.

As team members many times we serve in situations where we are members of one team but lead another team. Our roles on different teams change as the purpose and mission of the team varies.

There are teams who seem to get the job done and then there are accountable teams. The Accountable Team™ works more effectively, achieves at a higher level and ultimately creates an environment where everyone can become their very best. All accountable teams have five critical elements in place.

Belief
Members of The Accountable Team know what they believe. They believe that they can solve problems, overcome obstacles and that the mission drives discussions and actions. The Accountable Team doesn’t spend time discussing what cannot be done. They focus on what they can do, where their strengths are and application of those strengths as possible solutions to a problem or challenge.

Belief drives attitude and action. All actions taken are driven by a belief structure. Beliefs based in abundance and “can do” attitude deliver actions that solve problems and allow for superior goal achievement.

Accountability
The Accountable Team is made up of individuals who understand the elements of Proactive Accountability™. They know what their right things are. They know how to manage their space. They know how to manage the process. They know the importance of establishing the right expectations. And, ultimately they know the importance of contributing to relationships.

Members of accountable teams apply accountability on an individual basis and create an environment where these skills and attributes flourish on a group level. Members know the language of accountability and speak it. They don’t make excuses and they don’t accept them from others either.

Leadership
The Accountable Team will always have accountable leadership. Accountable Leaders™ are the same in public as they are in private. The Accountable Leader lives by a code of ethics that is demonstrated in their actions. The Accountable Leader trusts, respects and executes on a different level. They value people more then things. Accountable leaders lead through and with people. They understand that you lead people and manage things. Everyone on the team knows the values of The Accountable Leader.

Innovation
The Accountable Team is innovative. They recognize that innovation is improving a process, making a process more efficient and making it simpler.

Creativity is the process of coming up with ideas. Innovation is taking those ideas and making them part of the value equation. Innovation drives simplification and creates opportunity for growth. Innovation allows The Accountable Team to better solve challenges and reach goals.

A mindset of innovation frees The Accountable Team from the shackles of how things have been done in the past and opens the door to new methods, opportunities and greater results.

Influence
The Accountable Team understands the power of influence and the power of words. They encourage each other to go beyond what they know they can do and operate in the realm of the impossible made possible. They fundamentally understand that words shape our world and this is an area they do not compromise.

Influence that comes from position or title is short lived. Using personal power to exert influence is also limited in its long-term effectiveness. True influence comes from serving others. It comes from investing in people. And, it comes from knowing what your Non- negotiables™ are and other people seeing you stick to them.

When a team comes together and all five of these elements are in place the ordinary teams transforms into The Accountable Team. The Accountable Team will always outpace, outproduce and outperform an ordinary team. The Accountable Team delivers results and becomes a critical element of an accountable organization.

Proactive Accountability
Accountable Leaders understand what they are accountable for and engage on their accountability in a proactive fashion. They understand that taking responsibility for something gone wrong doesn’t really cut it today. The key is to know what you are accountable for and to get it right in the first place. Accountable Leaders look to serve first. They actively build relationships with the people they lead, their peers and the community they are a part of. The success and well-being of others is always on their mind and lives in their actions.

Innovation
We can continue to use existing systems, products and thinking and continue to generate profits as well as grow our organizations. If we are building accountable organizations then we must look to innovate. When we innovate we improve and simplify. We create an environment where our organizations are more efficient and our clients have a better experience engaging with us. Innovation leads us beyond, “we’ve always done it this way” and into a realm where we are constantly improving. People like being in environments where innovation is creating new opportunities. Innovation is exciting and leads to continued process and product improvement.

Influence
Influence is the ability to have an effect on the character, development or behavior of someone or something. In an accountable environment everyone realizes that true influence does not come from a title or position. Influence is earned. Influence is derived from serving others, investing in people, knowing what your non-negotiables are and others seeing you stick to them authentically. True influence attracts others to your causes. When other people want you to succeed it becomes infinitely more realistic that you will be positioned to take the impossible and make it possible.

Contributing to an accountable world, whether as an Accountable Leader or building an Accountable Team or Accountable Organization, means helping others understand the importance and value of accountability. It also means that the tough road many times is the right road and the best results are beyond imagination. People who are accountable and teach accountability understand that they control their outcomes, they can create a place where self-satisfaction thrives and they are operating in such a way that everything is better.

This powerful message delivered to the new president of Apple freed Tim Cook from having to worry about his predecessor.  It freed Cook from having to make decisions in the future based on trends, opinions and leadership styles that were cemented in the past.  In essence, this one statement empowered Cook to take Apple boldly into the future, to deal with whatever presented itself and to work 100% to make Apple the best it could be at that point in time.

Many times in our life and in our business we find our self tied to something from our past.  It could be past ideas, beliefs or ways of conducting business.  Our past is filled with many success stories.  It is possible to draw from those experiences to create a rewarding future but we don’t want those experiences to be an anchor.

Looking forward you should drive yourself to expand your thinking.  Ask yourself challenging questions like:

How can I think differently?
How can I make better decisions?
What have I missed in the past that I can take advantage of in the future?
What is the right decision based on today’s business situations?
What new approach must I embrace in order to increase competitiveness in the future?
Does my organizational culture actually reward people for being tied to the past?

Challenge everyone on your team to cut their ties.  Develop an organizational culture that rewards forward thinking and forward movement.  When you are constantly challenging yourself to grow, expand and deliver more value and you release yourself from past anchors you will find yourself making more accountable decisions and creating the positive results you seek.

The other night I was at my business partners home and after dinner he had the driver take me back to the hotel.  The driver is from a small town in India.  He speaks very broken English and the words he does know are verbalized with a very unusual accent.  We worked hard to cobble out a conversation.

Almost immediately the driver expressed his excitement at President Obama being re-elected.  I find that around the world people keep up with American politics but what happened next floored me.  He said, 332 to 206.  I had a hard time understanding what he was saying and when I realized he was saying two numbers I had to stop and think.  Based on the context of our conversation I realized that he was talking about the Electoral College final vote.  Most of my friends from the United States couldn’t tell you what the final Electoral College tally was and here was a man from India, living in Saudi, and he was sharing his knowledge and insights.

The right to vote is a privilege.  Whether in the US or another country, we are fortunate to have a say in who leads our government.  There are many countries where this privilege doesn’t exist.  When we take something for granted we start to deny our accountability, our accountability to know the issues, our accountability to engage in meaningful debate on the candidates and what’s at stake, and our accountability to actually show up and vote.  And, that accountability doesn’t go away even if we don’t like either candidate.  We still have a responsibility to be accountable and to be engaged in the process.

Just as we shouldn’t take our right to vote for granted, neither should we take for granted the relationships in our life.  As I travel back to the US we are only a few days from the Thanksgiving holiday.  Like in the US and Canada many societies and cultures find ways to give thanks for the annual harvest.  Giving thanks is our way of showing that we appreciate what we have and that we realize it could be different.

At Thanksgiving in my house we go around the dinner table and share what we each are grateful for.  This year I want to give thanks for the wonderful friends I have made around the world.  It is these friendships that not only bring great joy and reward to me personally but they position me to be able to continue to share a message of the importance of accountability in our world.

Take the time now to let those people you care about know how you feel.  Celebrate your friendships and all of your relationships.  This is an accountability that we all have and should never take for granted.

Disruptive technology, DT, does not have to be “technology” in the specific sense. DT could be business systems, sales systems, customer service systems and other operations that differentiate you in the market place from your competition.

Many times we get caught up with the way we have done things in the past because that is what we are used to doing. Many times when we reinvent systems there is pushback both internally and externally. It is critical that we listen to everyone involved but at the same time we need to be able to stick to our convictions when rolling out DT. The bigger the change the bigger the pushback. It is easy to cave in and go back to the old familiar way of doing business but then the potential competitive advantage is lost and it will be even harder to initiate positive change in the future.

Look at your business. What system is the most critical for your overall success. What if you defined that procedure, product or service from scratch? What if you were a new business just starting out? How would you do things? Now look at the way you are doing things and ask yourself if you could provide a higher level of service or a better product by using your new creative ideas.

Being accountable to manage your space is all about eliminating from your past so that you can create your more effective, more rewarding future. Look for ways to use disruptive technology to give your business a competitive advantage.

Prior to leaving on this trip I sat down and thought about my strategic intent. My goal was to be able to deliver ideas to the organizations I went to serve that would allow them to grow and flourish. I also wanted to develop deeper relationships with people I knew and new people that I would meet.

My main concern was that there are vast cultural differences. My “right things” were to learn about the organizations that I would be speaking with, study up on cultural differences and have conversations with people who have traveled to Saudi Arabia so I could learn from their experiences.

I use 400 large laminated photos for a strategic planning exercise. I went through and eliminated any photos that I thought might not fit culturally. Upon my arrival in Riyadh, I met with my marketing partner in the region and had him review the photos and also my other visual materials to insure that there was nothing offensive. I wanted to guarantee that my message would be on target and well received.

We all should know our strategic intent and take the time to determine our right things. Our right things are those activities that when performed regularly and performed with a high level of excellence will almost guarantee that we achieve our strategic intent, our goal. Do you know your right things and are you focused on them on a daily basis?

If you are in safety one of your right things might be to clean your work area at the end of your shift or to make sure everything is in place before starting your workday. In sales you may need to contact a specific number of clients every day. A leader’s right things might include taking the time to communicate with direct reports with respect to the departments right things and following up to make sure that everyone has the resources they require to complete their mission.

The client feedback in Saudi Arabia was outstanding. We are already looking at several return visits, I met new people and developed several meaningful personal relationships and my marketing partner in the region and I are working closely to grow the No More Excuses® brand in the region. My right things lead to my success. Your right things will lead you to your success!

It’s the same as a leader in building a new organization. We need to ask questions to those people around us and see their view of the world and not just assume that our experiences helped us to know everything. We need to know what our members, or team members are happy with, what they are not happy with. What works? What’s not working? We need to know what they want more information on because by understanding where they are coming from, we can better serve the members of our organization and grow the enterprise. Great leaders ask great questions to the people around them. They take that information and then they deliver the value that’s needed. Not only do we need to ask questions to the people who are developing the organization but we must go to our clients and find out what’s working for them, what’s not working, what they could use, and what they don’t need. It will only help us focus and deliver better value, asking better questions is going to help us grow the organization and be much better leaders.