“We need to hold people more accountable.” How many times have you said this in the past year? When things aren’t going well — maybe your numbers are down, you haven’t met your goals, or your pipeline is dry — it’s easy to turn to this familiar mantra. But when you say it, what your team members actually hear is: “You are letting me down,” or, “We are failing.” Instead of lighting an inspired fire under people, you can end up deflating them.

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