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Leadership accountability isn’t just about winning over the team. It’s about listening, innovating, and pushing beyond the status quo. Here are my five favorite reminders about how to let the company and your employees know they can count on you.

1. Initiate Communication

Do not wait for people who report to you to lag behind or miss a critical initiative. Ask how they are doing on a project and encourage them to update you on their own. Look for reasons to be in communication with your workers and the leadership you report to for a natural flow of communication.

2. Promise and Deliver

Can employees count on you to deliver what you promised? Can leadership count on you to deliver what was promised on behalf of your team? Whether it is a simple task or your part of a larger project, communicate ahead of time what you expect from your team, what you plan to do personally, and commit to making it happen.

3. Always Have A Backup Plan

Contingency planning benefits you and your entire team so that regular work gets done no matter what. Whether it’s planning ahead for vacation or anticipating a disruption, equip employees to delegate and plan ahead so that regular work continues despite their absence and yours.

4. Empower Them to Generate Innovative Ideas

A lot of the innovation that executives and companies seek occurs in daily operations – where your employees are. Empower them to share innovative ideas, even the simple things that save time and money and can be implemented with little or no cost. Do they work everyday with three people whose offices are at opposite ends of the building? Would they be more effective if they were grouped together? Strategize with them to become innovators.

5. Help Employees Understand How Their Jobs Connect With the Company’s Strategy

It’s easy to get caught up in your own day-to-day responsibilities, but employees are more effective when they understand the purpose of their role. Help them learn it and embrace it. Being part of a bigger mission is rewarding.

Let me know your thoughts; you can also connect with me and other executives through the Insigniam Executive Forum on LinkedIn.