Adopting conscious accountability deepens connections and elevates results.
(Alexandria, VA) August 16, 2022—In Conscious Accountability: Deepen Connections, Elevate Results (ATD Press, August 2022), Yale faculty, psychologists, and leadership consultants David C. Tate, Marianne S. Pantalon, and Daryn H. David challenge leaders to elevate workplace results and personal and professional fulfillment by adopting the practice of conscious accountability.
Accountability is everywhere, showing up in family relationships, friendships, and other communities such as workplaces. As the authors explain, accountability functions as the invisible thread that connects people to one another and enables more effective interactions. Accountability done well can mean the difference between success and failure, between the extraordinary and the mediocre, and even between life and death.
Because the world of work is changing, accountability also needs to evolve. People are facing greater responsibilities and stresses, time and resource constraints, and increased remote work. Given these trends, it is more important than ever that accountability goes beyond the transactional—motivated by fear of reprisals or purely obligatory in nature—to a transformational process that focuses on learning, improvement, and shared responsibility.
This can be achieved through conscious accountability, which the authors define as expanding awareness of oneself to create deliberate intentions, take informed actions, and be responsible for one’s impact and effect on other people. This fresh take on accountability promises more meaning, joy, fulfillment, and excellence.
Tate, Pantalon, and David introduce the CONNECT framework of seven practices to help people work and lead with conscious accountability:
- Creating clarity establishes a clear vision with shared meaning, goals, and expectations.
- Opening up engagement is about creating the conditions in which people feel safe and free to express themselves and feel committed to working together to complete the tasks at hand.
- Nailing it means people following through on what they say they will do and ensuring that others are doing the same.
- Noticing is when people pay attention to what they are seeing outwardly and experiencing internally and actively check in with others with compassionate curiosity about their own observations.
- Exchanging feedback involves soliciting, receiving, and giving feedback to help oneself and others expand awareness, learn what is or is not working, and make any necessary course corrections.
- Claiming it is about taking ownership and responsibility for the results—both the successes and the failures—and consolidating the learning without blaming others.
- Trying again is about taking what you have learned from an experience and applying it in the next situation.
“We invite you to think about yourself and others in your life more completely and to try out new ways of thinking and acting,” says Tate. “Through the CONNECT framework, we give you the tools to better relate to everyone in your professional and personal life—to raise your understanding and awareness of basic human needs like autonomy, mastery, and belonging; to put people in a position to succeed and inspire excellence everywhere you turn; to enjoy more meaningful relationships; and to surpass your goals.”
Adopting the practice of conscious accountability can help foster workplace outcomes including greater trust among employees, enhanced teamwork, and better business alignment and productivity. The authors provide an action plan for applying conscious accountability to a single relationship, a single practice, or in implementing the full model. They also encourage readers to use an experiential framework that allows learning to inform future efforts to practice.
About the Authors
David C. Tate, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, executive coach, and organizational consultant. He is the co-founder and CEO of Conscious Growth Partners, a boutique consultancy that focuses on helping organizations realize their potential through better leadership, teamwork, and culture. David is on the faculty at Yale University in the schools of medicine and management, where he teaches leadership courses within graduate and executive education programs. He coaches global leaders within the Yale Greenberg World Fellows Program. David co-authored the book Sink or Swim: How Lessons From the Titanic Can Save Your Family Business. David received a BS from Cornell University and a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Virginia. He completed pre- and post-doctoral fellowships at Yale University before joining the faculty.
Marianne S. Pantalon, PhD, is a consulting and clinical psychologist, executive coach, and instructional designer. She is the co-founder and chief strategy officer at Conscious Growth Partners, a mission-focused consulting firm that helps organizations flourish through improved leadership, teamwork, and culture. In addition, she serves as a senior facilitator at the Yale School of Management, where she supports students in becoming powerful global leaders. Marianne loves the intersection of design, technology, and psychology. She fulfills this passion as the primary investigator of an NIH Small Business Innovation Research grant for building digital health technology. A creative at heart, Marianne studied psychology and film as an undergraduate at Binghamton University and earned her PhD at Hofstra University, where she investigated the psychological effects of writing.
Daryn H. David, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, educator, and leadership development coach. At the Yale School of Medicine, she holds a faculty appointment at the Child Study Center and serves as associate director for leadership development in the Offices of Academic & Professional Development and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. Through dynamic pedagogy and coaching programs, Daryn leverages her expertise to help academics and healthcare providers actualize their fullest professional potential. She further promotes the university’s educational mission by coaching within the Yale Greenberg World Fellows Program. Daryn holds an AB from Harvard University and PhD in psychology from Yale University. She completed a postdoctoral science policy fellowship at the National Institutes of Health and maintains a psychotherapy and coaching practice devoted to women professionals.
About ATD Press
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest association dedicated to those who develop talent in organizations. ATD’s members come from more than 120 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD Press publications are written by industry thought leaders and offer anyone who works with adult learners the best practices, academic theory, and guidance necessary to move the profession forward. For more information, visit td.org/books.
Conscious Accountability: Deepen Connections, Elevate Results
ISBN: 9781950496716 | 292 Pages | Paperback
td.org/book/conscious-accountability
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