Being accountable should mean something to you.Your word means everything to you or at least it should. Would you intentionally tell somebody you will meet them at a certain time or project location and not be there? Of course not, and being accountable is no different than being true to your word. We all get busy and once in a while small details slip by unnoticed.
There’s always the afterthought that it wasn’t really that important and it doesn’t matter. However, if you create a habit of letting things slip, at some point things that really matter will get forgotten. Have that happen to you several times and you were not accountable.
We live in a world where we have to conduct business to make things work, get things built and meet our commitments. Business is competitive and if you are known to be unaccountable there are competitors of yours out there waiting to perform. This could be bad for you and your business.
The bottom line is we are a busy, fast paced industry. We constantly try to be better, faster and more efficient. However, we should step back and take the time to think about what we are saying and committing our time towards.
Tips to be more accountable to your clients
- Check your habits. If you often arrive late to meetings, analyze what makes you delayed and take action to correct. Perhaps it’s a habit of taking phone calls minutes before you need to leave that throws you off schedule.
- Only say what you intend. Eliminate saying things like “I’ll be available anytime you need me” unless that’s what you really mean. Being more realistic will enable you to keep your word that much easier, “I’ll check my calendar and let you know what times might work for me.”
- Schedule and delegate tasks. Stay on target by scheduling all tasks related to your goals and help your team members by delegating tasks and following up on their progress. Don’t do this manually, use technology to streamline follow-up activities.
- Don’t assume consensus. If your project team agrees to a challenging undertaking as a group, it doesn’t always mean that there is an intention to follow-through. Check with individuals on your team to ensure they are on board, even after they commit to the challenge.
- Make it easy for your team to communicate challenges. Create an environment where your team can openly communicate about tackling project challenges to more easily identify what additional information is needed, what needs to be reassigned and how you can kick-start motivation.
- Don’t over commit. Spreading you and your team’s time too thin will make it less likely that you’ll achieve your goals. Implementing a SaaS solution to manage your construction communications is a best practice that helps you save time, giving you more time to focus on reaching project goals.
