🧠 The Accountability Shift

🍽️ Why the Best Leadership Happens Around the Table

The Leadership Table: - Powered by A Student of Leadership, UniPro Foodservice and our Leadership Development Program.

Where Food Industry Leaders Are Made – One Habit at a Time!

🎯 Quick – Timely – Impactful Lessons of Leadership

🍞 Opening Bite

I used to think accountability meant catching mistakes.
Finding what went wrong. Pointing out who missed the mark.

But real accountability isn’t about blame, it’s about belief.
Belief that people can rise to higher standards when they understand you’re on their side.

Accountability doesn’t start with correction.
It starts with connection.

💡 Leadership Insight

Average leaders use accountability as a hammer.
Great leaders use it as a mirror.

True accountability isn’t something you do to people, it’s something you build with them.
It’s not about calling people out. It’s about calling them up.

When leaders create a culture where expectations are clear, coaching is consistent, and feedback is safe, accountability becomes a source of pride, not pressure.

📊 Behavioral Deep Dive

Research from Gallup shows that only 21% of employees feel their performance is managed in a way that motivates them.
But when leaders shift from fault-finding to growth-building, engagement rises by over 40%.

Admired leaders know: accountability and inspiration aren’t opposites, they’re partners.
People don’t fear accountability when they feel seen, supported, and set up to succeed.

🧾 Field Notes from the Food Industry

A few years ago, one of our regional managers was struggling with declining sales and rising turnover.
He told me, “I keep catching my team making mistakes, but nothing changes.”

I asked him to flip the question:
“What are the behaviors we want to catch them doing right?”

Over the next 90 days, his meetings shifted from reprimands to recognition.
He celebrated accuracy, consistency, and great service stories.
Turnover dropped. Sales rebounded.
And his team didn’t just perform better, they took ownership.

Sometimes accountability isn’t about spotlighting the wrong.
It’s about amplifying the right.

🍽️ Real Story

When Alan Mulally took over as CEO of Ford, the company was losing billions.
In his first leadership meeting, every executive showed only green charts, no problems.
Mulally paused and asked, “How can everything be fine when we’re losing so much money?”

Finally, one leader showed red, a real problem.
Instead of criticizing him, Mulally applauded him. “Now we can start fixing things,” he said.

That single reaction rewired Ford’s culture.
Leaders began surfacing problems early, working across departments, and taking shared responsibility.
Within a few years, Ford returned to profitability, without taking government bailout funds.

Mulally didn’t catch mistakes.
He created an environment where truth was safe.

💬 Quote / Feedforward Prompt

🧭 Feedforward Prompt:
Ask one person this week:

💬 Reflection Questions

• When your team hears “accountability,” do they feel supported or scrutinized?

• How do you react when someone brings you a mistake, with curiosity or criticism?

• What’s one behavior you could start celebrating more consistently?

🚀 Action Challenge of the Week

1. This week, catch three people doing something right.

2. Recognize them specifically and publicly.

3. Then watch what happens to morale and performance.

🥖 Leadership Habit of the Week

Habit: Model ownership before you demand it.
When leaders take responsibility first, their teams follow naturally.

🍽️ Reader Spotlight | “At the Table”

🔎 One Last Bite of Curiosity

In every great kitchen, the chef doesn’t just critique, they coach.
Accountability isn’t yelling at the burnt dish.
It’s asking, “What did we learn, and how do we make it better next time?”

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