Holding people accountable is one of the most mature things you can do.

It requires having an adult conversation.

The reason it feels hard when it comes to your team is:

1. You worry they might quit.
2. You don’t want to hurt their feelings.
3. You think it’s your fault they didn’t perform.

There’s one way to eliminate these excuses:

Create a clear agreement in advance.

This means you communicate the result you want with a due date. They repeat it back to confirm understanding and agree. Then you evaluate the results together as planned.

Evaluating results does not mean questioning their worth as a person.

You’re simply checking whether the agreed-upon result was achieved.

There doesn’t need to be any drama.

1. If someone quits because you evaluate results, they’re not a good fit for your business anyway.

2. Evaluating results isn’t about hurting feelings. It’s about identifying whether the outcome was achieved. You’re evaluating performance, not criticizing the person.

3. It’s not your fault if they don’t perform—as long as you create clear agreements in advance. Their performance is their responsibility.

The people who work for you want to succeed.

But the older, more primitive part of their brain (and yours) is focused on three things: avoid pain, seek pleasure, and conserve energy.

It prefers to avoid risks, save effort, and sidestep discomfort.

This is why employees sometimes miss the mark.

And it’s also why we hesitate to hold them accountable.

Overcome this default behavior of the primitive brain.

You’ll get the best out of people when they’re clear on expectations and know you’ll evaluate their results.

Be brave. Be courageous. Hold your team accountable.