"Performance measured is performance improved," and "When we know we are going to be held accountable, we do a better job,” says Thomas S. Monson. In many organizations, employees are held accountable for little more than their time -- and many are not even held accountable for that!

Most organizations lack a strong measure of accountability. For example, many individuals will agree to goals, projects and assignments without being prepared to be held accountable for measurable progress on those goals or assignments. The simple truth is, progress will never happen without a strong accountability linkage. If you dole out the same allowance to your child every week whether chores are done or not, lawns start to grow pretty quickly.

The highest form of accountability is self-accountability. Employees who want to be held accountable are the basis for a world-class organization. Most willingly choose to be self-policing when they understand expectations and can see a clear chain of consequences related to their actions.