Have you ever thought your communication was clear, yet the action that followed was not what you expected? Have you ever assumed an action had been taken, then learned it had not? If your answer to both is yes, join the club.

There are reasons for the above. It could be the communication was not clear and specific enough. It could be the timeline for completion was not understood. It could be a lack of accountability. Or it could be that people see the request as optional. Here is the question: Is there a culture of optionality or a culture of accountability?

At the Studer Family of Companies, the decision was made to have the people who work on the baseball teams who have similar roles but are in different locations to meet weekly. Why? To improve consistency in operations and to learn from each other. In the past, this had been suggested and encouraged. However, the meetings were not taking place. Thus, the weekly meetings each Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. were made mandatory. Now that the meetings are taking place, the feedback has been particularly good. Recently, a person shared their wish that the meetings hadn’t had to be made mandatory for them to happen. I agree. However, at times, mandatory is needed.

I have heard similar messages from people over the years, including those in top leadership positions. I get it. No one would say having out-of-date products in a grocery store or making sure a child is in the correct car seat should be optional. Yet people do resist making leadership actions mandatory—at least until they see that mandatory works.

Here is an example. In my experience, having coworkers involved in hiring has many benefits. When I started as the president of a hospital, at an early meeting with all those in leadership, I presented a process of peer interviewing, shared the improved outcomes it provides, and encouraged all leaders to implement it. I also tracked employee turnover during the first 90 days.

After a few months, there were a few areas in which early turnover was down. It was in the areas whose leaders had implemented peer interviewing. At the monthly leadership meeting, we discussed the positive outcomes in turnover reduction. Some leaders who had implemented peer interviewing shared their experiences. I then went from suggesting to recommending that leaders put peer interviewing in place. This got us up to about 80 percent compliance.

After a few more months, it was evident that peer interviewing worked, yet 20 percent of the leaders were still not using it. At that point, it became mandatory. Human resources would not finish the hiring process without a form that listed the peers involved in the interview and stated that they supported moving forward with the hire. We also had other safeguards in place. Why did it take so long to make peer interviewing mandatory? I was interested in seeing which leaders were proactive and responsive. What I learned is that the last group also struggled with many aspects of leadership, including listening to the staff and engaging them in decision-making.

When are you most likely to act? When something is suggested, recommended, or mandatory? It may depend on who is suggesting or recommending, as well as the content of what is being proposed.

A few items to consider:

• Mandatory is not a bad word. It is often used when something is particularly important: a bicycle rider’s wearing a helmet, a pilot’s completing a checklist before taking off, a surgeon’s assuring everyone that everything is in place prior to surgery, a nurse’s making sure the patients understand the medications they will be taking. The list goes on and on.
• Make it clear: Is the action a suggestion or recommendation to consider, or is the action mandatory? At times, it’s good to start with the suggestion and/or recommendation. This helps identify the leaders who do not need the explicit mandatory language.
• Also provide clarity around instructions and time. For those Wednesday 10:00 a.m. baseball meetings I wrote about above, a request was made for each group to send bullet point notes. The issue was that a time limit was not given. So, some had to be reminded. The more clarity we provide, the better.

Ultimately, every organization wants good results. We want to set goals; meet them; and set new, higher ones. This is how we get better and better. When we make processes and behaviors mandatory, people know where to focus and how best to spend their time and energy. This typically leads to the desired results. I find a culture of accountability will always outperform a culture of optionality. When that happens, everyone wins.