Freedom and accountability: can't have one without the other

This freedom and accountability matrix shows how I think these two concepts come together in the most successful working relationships.

People want to be trusted to do their job and be given the freedom to figure out the solution to whatever the challenge at hand is.  Employers and supervisors want to see results that hit the target and make real progress on the big goals.  I see the upper right quadrant- high freedom and high accountability- as the ideal to work toward, and believe you can't really achieve success in one dimension without addressing the other.

For example, if you're a supervisor who perhaps has a talented and capable employee who is nevertheless disengaged or seemingly avoiding accountability, it may be that from their perspective that limits on their freedom (real or imagined) are inhibiting them from performing to your expectations.  If you can confirm they value autonomy or freedom to operate in carrying out their mission, whatever it is, that may be a great opportunity to negotiate for the specific outcomes or change that you seek as their supervisor and move the relationship closer to win-win.

On the other hand you may have a team member who you have given a long leash, so to speak, but you have still not seen the results you want.  In those cases, there is a good chance they may not understand what is expected of them, or understand the stakes of their work, or some combination of those two factors.  This too would be an opportunity to recalibrate by negotiating clear expectations around what both sides value and need from the relationship.  Aspiring toward the ideal of high freedom and high accountability can help ensure everyone gets what they need from the partnership.