Crucial Accountability: Tools for Resolving Violated Expectations, Broken Commitments, and Bad Behavior

In this updated second edition (first edition titled Crucial Confrontations), you’ll learn how to hold anyone accountable, master performance discussions, and get results.

Behind the problems that routinely plague our organizations and families, you’ll find individuals who are either unwilling or unable to deal with broken promises. Colleagues break a rule, coworkers miss a deadline, friends fail to live up to commitments (or just plain behave badly), and nobody says a word. Nobody holds anyone accountable. With repeated infractions, individuals become increasingly upset until they finally do speak their minds, but they do so poorly—often creating whole new sets of problems.

Research proves that mishandled disappointments aren’t just morale killers, they’re institution killers—diminishing organizational performance by 20 to 50 percent and accounting for up to 90 percent of all divorces.

Everyone knows how to run for cover, or, if sufficiently provoked, step up to problems in a way that causes a real ruckus. Crucial Accountability teaches you how to deal with violated expectations in a way that solves the problem at hand without harming the relationship—and, in fact, even strengthens it.

Broken promises, missed deadlines, poor behavior—they don’t just make others’ lives miserable; they can sap up to 50 percent of organizational performance and account for the vast majority of divorces. Crucial Accountability offers the tools for improving relationships in the workplace and in life and for resolving all these problems—permanently.