What do I mean by the right kind of action? Well, I don’t mean busyness. Busyness doesn’t build momentum or get results. As leaders, we must be careful when looking at the wrong activity. The action you want is an action that drives the results you want.

This is where accountability comes in. The accountability you want drives success, not the kind that only measures results and keeps the score. There are lag and lead measures. Lag measures tell what happened—like the score, “We sold 100 units this week.” Lead measures the right activities that predict whether you will achieve the right results. Lead becomes the predictor. You can “course correct” if required by tracking your lead measures.

Please don’t misunderstand; hitting your goals and making sales, for example, is certainly critical. However, they don’t necessarily drive success—they only measure them. It’s like a thermometer—which tells the temperature.

The leader needs to figure out and identify the specific activities that will drive success. Then create a cadence of accountability that will create high performance and, in turn, results. Let me say it another way–don’t count the score–count the behaviors that run up the score.

Typically your people have a list of activities/functions they can control. Help them identify the ones that affect the outcomes you want. For example, in my previous life in sales leadership—tracking the number of sales calls and the number of presentations became the lead measures that would predict an outcome. We need to put our energy into the actual drivers of the results.

Remember, it’s not just an activity; it is the right kind.