Spur Leadership in the Trenches

Just talked to a close friend of mine--we'll call him Fred--who shared the following story with me:

A few months ago, the startup company he works for got a much-needed traunch of investment capital. As he looked around the office (<15 people), he realized that all the C-level managers (CEO, COO, etc.) had been entrepreneurs/salespeople but had never managed a company. So, he initiated a conversation with the CEO and pointed out--tactfully--that they had a lot of activity/projects in the works but very little follow-up or progress reporting. Bottom line: No accountability. The CEO convened a staff meeting and asked everyone what they were working on and what the status was. Meeting adjourned.

But, here's where Fred took accountability to the next level: he took notes at that meeting and then the following month Fred sent out a company-wide email calling for status reports on the activity/projects, congratulating those who were doing what they had said they would do and offering to help those who weren't. Now, in that office, people know that their progress is going to be measured. Someone's paying attention and checking up on things and offering to help where circumstances or performance issues threaten to throttle the company's growth.

The leader who neglects accountability because she wants everyone to like her will end up with no one liking her, because they'll be frustrated by inactivity/ineffectiveness of the group/church/team/business. The leader who wants everyone to produce but doesn't engage them relationally will end up with no one who produces long-term because he hasn't invested in people on a personal level.

The balance (tension?) of leadership is struck in community AND accountability. There is no community without accountability and no accountability without community.

What examples do you have of people in your life who've led you with this balance?