How to Build A Culture of Accountability

3. Empower Participants to Boost Accountability

Ok, so far, we laid out the need for clear expectations. We covered the need to lead from the front as the coach. 

With these two principles in place, we must now ensure that our athletes are empowered to meet the expectations – whether they do or not is up to them. 

What does this look like? Well, let’s examine it through the lens of the off-season, starting with weight room availability. 

Do you offer weight room times that are amenable to your kids schedules? Opening the weight room for one hour after school may not be enough if you have kids who need extra academic support after school, or if they have to work a job after school. 

Making the commitment to early morning lifts, despite this being less ideal for you, may be necessary to empower your kids with the ability to attend lifts. 

To use another example from our first principle, if we are going to set a dress code for the weight room, are we giving them what they need to meet that code? 

Requiring blue team shorts and grey team shirts is unfair if kids only have one or two pairs. Getting on kids for not wearing the correct gear to a workout when they haven’t been given enough attire to meet the expectation is unfair and is likely to engender resentment rather than accountability. 

4. Accountability is Impossible without Objective Measurement

Setting expectations is the first step toward a culture of accountability. However, without the ability to measure performance against those expectations, what’s the point? 

Establishing that kids must attend 30 workouts for a total of 30 hours over 3 months is all well and good, but if kids know that you are not tracking their progress toward the desired outcomes, they are more likely to skip workouts. 

Measurements must be objective. Iron-clad. You either showed up this many times or you did not. 

Subjectively recognizing kids who you think were there a lot, or who you recall showing up, is a sure way to undermine your credibility and the culture you are trying to build. 

So whether it is an attendance spreadsheet, a “demerits” log, or a training app, be sure that you have a system in place to measure performance against the pre-established expectations. 

5. Transparent Feedback Strengthens Accountability

On-going feedback is a critical element of establishing a culture of accountability. 

Part of the reason we set clear expectations up front is so we can vigilantly measure them and provide kids with feedback throughout the process.

If a Freshman shows up every day for the first two weeks, giving him affirmation of his effort can go a long way. 

Conversely, if an athlete begins to slip, addressing it immediately is critically important. 

Otherwise, it becomes a habit that calcifies and becomes harder to break. 

What Does Open Feedback Look Like?

Feedback should be a two way street. You must inform your athletes of how they are doing, correcting errors, and recognizing success (more on this in Principle 7).

However, athletes must be empowered (there’s that word again) to provide you and your staff with feedback. 

A great way to do this is a “Captain’s Council”. In addition to your team captains, select 3 kids from each grade. 

Meet with them at a set time every week, and solicit feedback from the group on how the team is doing.

Are the expectations laid out reasonable? Is weight room availability sufficient? Are there kids on the team going through something unknown to you that may require an altered approach?

This type of communication system makes the athletes feel heard, and also ensures that everyone from staff to athlete is on the same page. 

6. Define Consequences for a Lack of Accountability

At the high school level, this can be extremely difficult. Unlike the college ranks, your team may lack depth. Additionally, there may be rules outside of your control on making cuts or administering “punishments” .

Regardless of the constraints, we must find a way to establish consequences for actions that are clear and known. 

These can be as simple as saying that kids who attend over 90% of workouts do not have to participate in the dreaded conditioning test at the start of camp. 

The responsibility of bringing the balls and equipment to practice, often reserved for the underclassmen, can become the responsibility of those who didn’t participate in off-season workouts. 

The consequences don’t need to be draconian. They just need to be defined and implemented. 

If an athlete A participated in every workout and Athlete B never did, what is the likelihood that Athlete A will continue to put in the same effort? 

Unless they possess a great deal of intrinsic motivation, the chances are slim. 

7. Reward Desired Behavior to Increase Accountability

Let’s be honest, we’re dealing with high school kids. Not every kid on your team is looking to play at the next level. This means that their “intrinsic motivation” may be lacking. And that is okay. 

We can improve motivation by recognizing and rewarding desired behavior. 

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation and Their Role in Accountability

According to the theory of Self-Determination, there are two sources of motivation: extrinsic and intrinsic. 

Extrinsic motivation refers to behavior that is driven by external rewards. These can be tangible rewards like T-shirts, badges, or trophies, or they can be intangible, like praise and recognition. 

Intrinsic motivation on the other hand is driven from within. It is based on actions naturally satisfying to the individual, like the love of the sport.