Simon Thiessen
CEO, Culture Consultant, Facilitator
This article was personally written by Simon Thiessen based on over 30 years experience with leadership and workplace culture
A Culture of Accountability
We’ve had a new year makeover, with our monthly newsletter renamed to match the title of our podcast (The Culture Nerds).
Each month during 2025, we will create resources (mostly free) to help leaders tackle issues that impede performance, undermine workplace culture and mess with their heads!
A product for clients who need more support.
Podcast (free)
Resource – blog, checklist, downloadable tool, etc (free)
Plenty in 20 – a punch 20 minute on-demand webinar (free)
Newsletter with links to those resources (free)
February’s topic is A Culture of Accountability.
What is a Culture of Accountability?
A culture of accountability means everyone owns their actions and results. Expectations are clear, commitments are followed through, and feedback flows in all directions. Mediocrity isn’t tolerated—team members hold each other to high standards with respect and honesty. Issues are raised, approaches are challenged, and problems are solved together. It’s not about blame; it’s about raising the bar and delivering consistently.
The key drivers of a culture of accountability are:
Clarity of expectation – ensuring people know exactly what is expected of them and what it means to ‘do a good job’
Abundant, regular and skillful feedback to ensure people know how they are going against those expectations and whether they are doing a good job or not
Explore this month’s podcast, resources, and events below — all designed to help you drive accountability in your workplace.
Stay Authentic!
Product of the Month:
Courageous Conversations
Workplaces become complicated by people with different ideas, opinions, priorities, personalities and values. Sometimes things are said that create issues. Often, things aren’t spoken about – and aren’t resolved.
Petty grievances become big. Issues get entrenched. Workplace culture and performance are compromised by interpersonal issues and personality conflicts
The Courageous Conversations program includes up to six half-day modules. You can select specific modules and there are in-person, online and self-paced options.
You can read more about our program here
Do you have issues in your team? Contact us for a free program quote customised to your needs
New Podcast Episode
The Rules of the Pool 🎙️
This episode focuses on the role of accountability in shaping workplace culture and emphasises the impact of individual contributions. We discuss how open communication, courageous conversations, and shared responsibility lead to a healthier work environment.
Free Resource
Pool Rules 💦
Peeing in the Pool is metaphor for the way each person in a team takes care of the working environment. When we work in a team, we’re all in it together – we’re all swimming in the same pool
Sometimes people look after the water, but sometimes they do things that taint the pool for everyone.
This resource includes:
💦 A Peeing in the Pool wall chart you can use when you work with your team to create agreed
standard around work ethic and interpersonal interactions
💦 A video with tips for you to lead a discussion with your team
💦 A video briefing you can play for your team to kick off the discussion
Online Events
Plenty in 20 – February
Another episode of our punchy, on-demand webinar packed full of strategies and tips.
This month we talk about how to hold people accountable when they resist the feedback you need to give them.
Register for our Plenty in 20 and gain access to a whole year of punchy, high content 20-minute webinars covering hot leadership topics – then watch them on-demand.
“I look forward to to the
new workshop every month.
Each topic seems to cover exactly
what I need”
“Some webinars take so
long to get to the good bits.
Plenty in 20 always dives straight
into the stuff I am there to hear”
“Our workplace is so busy that
we don’t make time for learning.
But I always find 20 minutes to
watch these”
