The future of work is changing, and new rules are being written before our very eyes.

Teams are more important now than ever before, but many of them are struggling to step up and drive high performance when it matters most.

Creating a Culture of Accountability

Today’s infographic from the bestselling author Dr. Vince Molinaro demonstrates how leaders can create an environment where truly accountable teams can flourish, and employees are inspired to do their best work.

>> Download Dr.Vince Molinaro’s How to Build an Accountable Team

Accountable Leaders Build Accountable Teams

Weak, mediocre teams demonstrate behaviors that can breed a toxic work environment, such as working in isolation or not demonstrating trust among other team members.

In order to combat mediocre teams, leaders must create a culture of accountability in their organization where individuals can step up and be accountable.

“No group ever becomes a team until they can hold themselves accountable as a team.”

—The Discipline of Teams, Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith

When teams take full responsibility for their actions, they manage most issues themselves rather than looking to leadership to solve problems.

Overall, accountable teams demonstrate two critical dimensions: team clarity and team commitment.

1. Team Clarity

Accountable teams should have full clarity about the business they operate in by having the ability to:

• Anticipate external trends both in and outside of their industry.
• Have clarity on the strategy and purpose of their organization.
• Understand the expectations of their stakeholders and the interdependencies that exist with other parts of the company.
• Know what needs to get done and how it needs to be done.

2. Team Commitment

Accountable teams also demonstrate a high degree of commitment needed to deliver results. They do so in the following ways:

• Have a deep sense of commitment to driving success.
• Invest time in working across the organization.
• Work to make their team as strong as it can be.
• Show a deep commitment to one another.

As a leader, these two dimensions are invaluable as a way of thinking about driving mutual accountability and sustaining high performance for their organization over the long-term.

Accountable Teams Drive Extraordinary Performance

Leaders who invest in leveling up their team and promote a culture of accountability can experience transformational benefits, such as:

• Everyone is clear and aligned on what needs to get done.
• Each team member is accountable, pulls their weight, and goes to great lengths to support one another.
• Everyone feels safe challenging one another and confronting issues head-on without fear.
• Team members leverage the unique capabilities of others.
• Everyone works hard but also manages to have fun and celebrate success.

These benefits translate to strong results within organizations. In fact, research shows that high- performing companies have more accountable teams compared to average or poorly performing companies.

The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of its Parts

Whether it’s an executive team, a departmental team, a cross-functional team, or even a team made up of external partners, organizations have become increasingly reliant on teams to achieve success and guide them through uncertainty.

Given the importance of teams in today’s ever-changing world, it is clear we need to increase our efforts when it comes to building truly accountable teams.

As a leader, you are being counted on to demonstrate accountability and create high-performing teams. Are you stepping up?

Mapped: The State of Small Business Recovery in America

In the business news cycle, headlines are often dominated by large corporations, macroeconomic news, or government action.

While mom and pop might not always be in focus, collectively small businesses are a powerful and influential piece of the economy. In fact, 99.9% of all businesses in the U.S. qualify as small businesses, collectively employing almost half (47.3%) of the nation’s private workforce.

Unfortunately, they’ve also been one of the hardest-hit sectors of the economy amid the pandemic. From the CARES Act to the new budget proposal, billions of dollars have been allocated towards helping small businesses to get back on their feet.

Small Business Recovery in 50 Metro Areas

During the pandemic, many small businesses have either swiftly pivoted to survive, or struggled to stay afloat. This map pulls data from Opportunity Insights to examine the small business recovery rate in 50 metro areas across America.

So, has the situation improved since the last time we examined this data? The short answer is no—on a national scale, 34% of small businesses are closed compared to January 2020.

San Francisco is one of the most affected metro areas, with a 48% closure rate of small businesses. New York City has spiralled the most since the end of September 2020.

Data as of Apr 23, 2021 and indexed to Jan 4-31, 2020.

On the flip side, Honolulu has seen the most improvement. As travel and tourism numbers into Hawaii have steadily risen up with lifted nationwide restrictions, there has been a 16 p.p. increase in open businesses compared to September 2020.

Road to a K-Shaped Recovery

As of April 25, 2021, nearly 42% of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. However, even with this rapid vaccine rollout, various segments of the economy aren’t recovering at the same pace.

Take for instance the stark difference between professional services and the leisure and hospitality sector. Though small business revenues in both segments have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, the latter has much more catching up to do:

This uneven phenomena is known as a K-shaped recovery, where some industries see more improvement compared to others that stagnate in the aftermath of a recession.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit Endures

Despite these continued hardships, it appears that many Americans have not been deterred from starting their own businesses.

Many small businesses require an Employer Identification Number (EIN) which makes EIN applications a good proxy for business formation activity. Despite an initial dip in the early months of the pandemic, there has been a dramatic spike in EIN business applications.

Even in the face of a global pandemic, the perseverance of such metrics prove that the innovative American spirit is unwavering, and spells better days to come for small business recovery.