Accountability

We launched a new website.

Let me say that with more enthusiasm.

We launched a new website!!!

This is a project that we started working on last year and we’re seeing our vision come to light. It’s very exciting.

So let’s get to the point. Who gets credit if you like it? The whole team. Who gets yelled at if you hate it? Well, me.

The rebranding of Trust Insights has been 100% a team effort. Chris and John have participated in all decisions. They have expressed what they wanted to see and have chosen much of the direction we moved in. That’s why when I tell you that there is a new website, I say, “We launched a new website” because it was not a solo effort.

Now, at the end of the day, there needs to be a “head on the chopping block” as Chris likes to say. As the majority owner and CEO, I’m the final decisions maker, the tiebreaker, the “head on the chopping block”. I own that role. I take the good with the bad.

Why is this important to know? Because I could say “my designer didn’t execute my vision”, or “my team and I were not aligned” (none of which is true by the way). What actually happened in that example? I didn’t articulate what I wanted. I didn’t collaborate with the team to make sure everyone had a voice, myself included. That’s on me. Not them.

When you’re at an organization where “shit rolls downhill” is the mantra, you know that there is a lack of accountability from the decision-makers. Leaders need to own the decisions they make and do better to communicate what they want.

All too often I hear stories from clients about trying to complete tasks with their team and the conversation generally goes like this:

Marketer: What do you want?
Stakeholder: I don’t know, figure it out.
Marketer: How’s this?
Stakeholder: That’s not what I want at all. You did it wrong. Do it again.
Marketer: What’s wrong with it so I can make edits.
Stakeholder: I don’t have time, go figure it out.

Sound familiar? I’ve been there, too.

How do we fix this problem?

Well, you can’t control someone else’s actions, only your own. I would recommend utilizing a persona statement.

As an [persona] I want to [take an action] so that [I get this outcome].

You don’t need to say “fill out this persona statement”. Instead, you could try this approach with your indecisive decision-maker:

“So, as the decision-maker, you want me to create a report of our website traffic so that you know where our audience comes from? Does that sound correct?”

It’s an opportunity to test the waters before you dive in headfirst and spend a lot of time on the project. My suggestion is to keep at it. Keep offering up different persona statements until you feel like you’ve gotten closer to what your stakeholder wants. For those of us that sometimes struggle to articulate what we’re thinking, this exercise is incredibly simple and helpful.

In the meantime, tell us what you think of the new site over in our Free Slack Group Analytics for Marketers.