#106: From Complaints to Solutions: How to Develop Accountability with Traci Austin

Traci Austin, is a certified coach and HR professional with over two decades of experience bridging the gap between the C-suite and HR leaders in aligning the business strategy to the business results. She is focused on partnering with leaders at all levels to create fulfilling work. This is done by focusing on 4 levers of engagement: Fit to role, Leadership, Team and Cultural alignment to the strategies and core values to meet the business outcomes. Traci uses her coaching, consulting and training expertise to serve organizations through the Leadership Development Program, Team Retention Program and group coaching for HR professionals. She is a highly sought after expert on these topics. She hosts a weekly podcast titled, The People Strategy Podcast with Traci Austin and has been distributed to thousands of HR professionals and business leaders across the globe. She is the Chief Strategy Consultant and owner of Elevated Talent Consulting, a certified women owned business, that partners with leaders in the mid-level manager roles and HR professionals to bridge the gap with both their team and the executive team in exceeding performance expectations while being fulfilled in their work. Top 3 Takeaways Clear is kind. Clear communication of outcomes and priorities is essential for accountability. Leaders should verify alignment with team members on priorities and document meeting outcomes with specific action items and deadlines. Reframe the pain. Complaints are actually unnamed requests. Effective leaders respond with curiosity rather than solutions, which helps team members identify and articulate what they really need. Lead don’t solve. Developing others requires leaders to resist solving problems themselves. Instead, we should use questions to guide our team members through problem-solving so they can build these skills for themselves. From Our Sponsor The Predictive Index (PI) is an award-winning talent optimization platform that aligns business strategy with people strategy for optimal business results. More than 60 years of proven science, software, and a curriculum of insightful management workshops make PI the solution for any company looking to design great teams and culture, make objective hiring decisions, foster engagement, and inspire greatness in their people anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 clients and 480+ partners use PI—including Nissan, Citizens Bank, Subway, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Omni Hotels—across 90+ countries. Learn more at predictiveindex.com. From the Source "Every complaint truly is just an unnamed request." "So often there's fear in that. So we don't say anything and we keep going in this cycle, which increases stress and that increases burnout and frustration 'cause we're not hitting our goals." "We can't effectively hold somebody accountable if we aren't in agreement on what we're holding them accountable for." "If you find yourself holding back and not wanting to enroll someone and uplevel them in a specific area, I think it's really important to ask yourself, ‘Why don't I want to give up this piece?’" Connect with Traci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traci-austin The People Strategy podcast: https://elevatedtalentconsulting.com/podcast-2 Leadership Development program: https://elevatedtalentconsulting.com/leadership-development