Chad Silverstein addresses leadership practices around accountability and expectations. He argues that clear, discussed expectations make enforcing accountability straightforward and that, over his 25-year leadership experience, he made rare exceptions — favoring people who showed genuine care and effort rather than rewarding outcomes alone. He cautions that making exceptions can create friction among team members who expect consistent rule-following.
Chapters
So I have always made a really big deal about accountability and expectations. And if you have clear expectations, it's easy to hold people accountable to them because they should be discussed early and often in the relationship. And if we agree on something and then you don't hold up your end of the bargain, I don't really have to say anything. I could just pull out the expectations that we had when we first went into our relationship and show you, and then I could pass the tension and ask you, so what do you think about that? And it's not my problem. It's your problem. And I think people are scared to have those conversations, but it's why having expectations are so important. And as a leader, you got to determine what those are and, you know, keep the red secrets. And when it's appropriate, because people ask, you tell them, tell them the truth. And I. I had no problem doing that. I made exceptions 25 years I had favorites, and I made exceptions. And I did. I made it around effort, and I did things that people did not agree with. And maybe people feel that that issue, that person didn't, you know, warrant whatever it is that I gave them. They didn't think they deserved it. But I. When I saw someone cared to me, that was my barometer for effort. You care. And when I saw the. That genuine, sincere effort being made to care about my company, I. I always made exceptions. It wasn't so. So common. It was rare. You know, thank God I had a lot more than just a few of those individuals. And I made a lot of exceptions. And. And I cheated towards high performers, for sure, but not because of results, but because of the effort to get the results. And that's a discipline. And, you know, you gotta be clear what your expectations are. You gotta know that sometimes it's gonna create a little friction in your team because people like to follow the rules, and the rules are set. They don't like if you go against the rules and it hurts them. So something to keep in mind when you make exceptions.
