Last year, when the Leadercast team planned out the monthly content themes for 2020, there was no way of knowing how applicable they would become given what’s going on in the U.S. and around the globe today. Leadercast’s theme for June is Accountability, and boy are we in a season of accountability right now.
The Black Lives Matter movement has been a polarized one. Many people are confused and trying to sort out what to think of it all. I’m not going to pretend like I have all the answers, but as someone who has worked closely with leaders through Leadercast’s mission to fill the world with leaders worth following, I can tell you how leaders ought to navigate this season of our history.
To provide some background, I am a white woman with a veteran cop as a father, a brother currently serving in law enforcement, and a network of black friends and colleagues I adore. The way I see it from where I sit at the table, with friends and family on both sides of the fence, the Black Lives Matter movement isn’t about cops versus the black community, it’s a movement in accountability—which means to answer to a trust.
When we think of accountability in leadership, it’s often considered in terms of holding our team members accountable when they miss deadlines or drop the ball on a project. But more importantly, accountability means inviting others into our personal leadership journey and asking them to keep us honest and true to the ideals that make us a leader worth following.
Leaders sit in a seat of influence and power—without accountability, that power can become unregulated and incredibly dangerous, says business consultant and speaker Dr. Tim Irwin in this interview on Leadercast Now.
