Crucial Accountability - Coming This Fall

“She always said ‘Don’t play ball in the house.’” 

Remember when Peter Brady missed the trash can with his errant right hook and broke his mom’s favorite vase? Peter avoided admitting his wrong doing because he was afraid he’d miss out on a camping trip with his friends. Of course, ducking accountability only made it worse.

When we make mistakes or let someone down at work, we can get the same feeling in the pit of our stomach that Peter did. And it’s not much fun being on the other side of the situation, when someone you are counting on falls short. In those moments, the gap between what’s expected and what actually happens is where accountability lives. 

How we communicate about and follow through on issues of accountability is perhaps one of the trickiest parts of being a professional in the workplace. It’s also one of the most important. Unfortunately, for most adults it doesn’t come naturally. That’s why Lehigh’s Workplace Learning team is excited to offer a new program from the makers of Crucial Conversations. It’s called Crucial Accountability.

Judy Zavalydriga, Director of Employee Relations and Workplace Learning, has been certified to teach Crucial Conversations for several years. Now, she has added the Crucial Accountability program to her qualifications.

“Since launching Crucial Conversations at Lehigh, we’ve trained over 100 employees in the art of safe and productive communication,” Judy notes. “Now we need to go to the next level and learn together how to communicate about accountability.”

The Crucial Accountability (CA) program will be open to all employees who have completed Crucial Conversations. “Accountability builds on Conversations,” Judy explained. “In Crucial Conversations, you learn the skills you need to create a sense of safety in your communications about tough issues. This includes dealing with facts, not the story we may have constructed in our mind, to explain why someone does what they do.”