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4 things you wish your boss knew about accountability
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Big, lofty and high-level are good qualities for goals, but goals are good for nothing until theyre connected to specific, measurable, repeatable tasks. Next time you want others to be accountable, ditch the blah blah and use these four principles. - photo by Dave Rasmussen
Whenever we expect something from someone be it our employees, our spouse or even ourselves we earnestly want that person to take responsibility, to follow through, to be accountable. But we often shoot ourselves in the foot by making expectations that arent specific, measurable and repeatable. Big, lofty and high-level are good qualities for goals, but goals are good for nothing until theyre connected to simple steps that can be taken and tracked again and again.

We all know accountability in business is critical, yet many companies large and small struggle finding and implementing accountability processes that both management and staff are happy to embrace and sustain. Thats because most approaches to accountability are too broad and one-sided they serve the people making the requests but not the people tasked with fulfilling the requests.

Consider the most common culprit behind the lack of accountability in business: the job description. Weve all had them, read them, and some of us are even guilty of writing them. They reek of broad, vague phrases like provide excellent customer service and achieve operational objectives yes, this is what we as managers want our employees to do conceptually, but what do we want them to do practically? The next time you want your employees or yourself to be accountable, ditch the high-level blah blah and implement these four accountability principles.

Principle 1: Accountability is easier with specific, actionable requests

From job descriptions to day-to-day interactions, we often make abstract requests of our employees yet wonder why our employees dont give us the results we want. Heres a hint: theyre not sure what we actually want them to do! Just as badly as we want results and accountability from our employees, they earnestly need clear direction and specific assignments from us. When a job is broken down into specific tasks, it creates an inherent sense of accountability as the person responsible for the job can actually grasp what we want them to do.

Principle 2: Accountability is a byproduct of measurability

Just think of being given the task maintain contact with former customers versus email 10 former customers daily. The first task is vague does contact mean via emails, phone calls or face-to-face meetings? And how many customers must you contact to complete the task how will you know when youre done? And how often are you supposed to do the task? Good luck feeling empowered and motivated to be accountable, let alone to actually get the task done. The second task, on the other hand, is clear, actionable and measureable. You can envision yourself writing and sending the emails, you can track your progress, and youll know when youve completed the task each day. When ambiguous assignments are turned into trackable tasks, expectations become explicit and accountability becomes automatic.

Principle 3: Accountability isnt a one-time deal

Every boss wants their employees to be accountable not just sometimes, but all the time. To help this actually happen, the business needs a work process structured around routines sets of each, every and always tasks that make work come alive. When employees know that each morning they have a check-in with the team, every Friday they report on their metrics, and that they always review last months performance at a team lunch, they not only always have something to prepare for and look forward to, they dont have to start each day wondering What am I supposed to get done today?

Principle 4: Accountability is maintained by routines

With routines, employees have more predictability in their workload and more consistency in their schedules, making it easier to stay accountable to whats expected of them. When you make a routine, its not set in stone. The truth is, routines need to be updated routinely. With explicit routines that break down goals into tasks that are specific, measurable and repeatable, you and your employees will always have a clear picture of whats being done now, making it easier to evaluate current performance and update assignments moving forward.

The next time you want your employees to take more responsibility, follow through and be accountable, do everyone including yourself a favor and organize your expectations into routines that have specific, measurable, repeatable tasks. Youll both have less wasted time and frustration and be primed for more sustainable, scalable success.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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