The Role of Accountability in Leadership
Bio for Michael Timms
Michael Timms is an internationally sought-after speaker, consultant, and best-selling author who teaches leaders how to inspire greatness in their teams.
He is the author of How Leaders Can Inspire Accountability, which the world’s #1 leadership coach, Marshall Goldsmith, called “the ultimate guide for embracing accountability as a leader” and is the basis of his TEDx talk. His first book, Succession Planning That Works, received critical acclaim as “an invaluable guide for identifying and taking advantage of talent within organizations.”
Through his company, Avail Leadership, Timms partners with organizations to foster high-performance cultures of teamwork and excellence. Outside of work, he enjoys spending quality time with his family and pursuing challenging outdoor adventures in remote wilderness locations.
Episode highlight
In this episode, Michael shares his childhood experiences, his first encounter with leadership, and the events that shaped him into the leader he is today. We also get to hear about the importance of accountability in leadership. Listen to learn more.
Links
- Michael’s TED Talk: https://go.ted.com/michaeltimms
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeltimms7429
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltimms
- Website: https://michaeltimms.com
Quotes
- “By controlling your own emotions, you can actually influence how other people respond to you.”
- “You can be an awesome leader in many different respects, but if you fear conflict, if you really are conflict avoidant, you’re going to create chaos.”
- “The best leaders are those who actually care for the people who report to them as much as they care for getting the right results.”
Takeaways
Childhood Incidents:
As a child, Michael and his family lived near a skiing hill, and they would go skiing regularly. One day, as Michael was heading back to their van, he had a bad crash while his family was watching. Known for his temper, everyone expected him to be upset. Before he reached the van, his mother met him and told him that his dad and brothers were in the van betting on how angry he would be. His mother challenged him to stay calm and not give them the satisfaction they were seeking. When Michael calmly got to the van everyone was shocked. This experience taught him how to control his emotions.
In university, Michael took two years to serve a mission with his church. During the mission, the young adults were put in situations where they needed to be leaders. Michael says he made mistakes as a leader, but through those experiences, he learned to overcome them.
Influential Groups:
Michael believes that his parents are the most influential people in his life. His dad was an entrepreneur who was driven and accountable. When Michael started his own business and faced crossroads, he would always ask himself, “What would my dad do?” to increase perspective for the decision.
According to Michael, he inherited his drive and disregard for rules from his dad. His mom, on the other hand, respected rules and knew how to work within systems to get what she wanted. She was also intelligent, strong-willed, and well-spoken. Michael believes his ability to write and particularly to use vocabulary came from her, and strongly influenced who he is today.
Groups That Michael Chose to Belong To:
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Michael was propelled into leadership skills. The church has no paid clergy, so it thrives on volunteer leadership development. The nature of servant leadership, without power dynamics, means people do things because they want to, not because they are told. This approach has played a fundamental role in how Michael views leadership and how he leads today.
Temperament and Personality:
Michael confirms that he has always had a Type A personality since childhood. Over the years, he has added empathy to his character. He believes a leader should drive for results and care about the people they lead as much as they care about those results.
Cultural Epiphanies:
Although Michael’s past bosses were not perfect, they had one common strength -always making time for one-on-one sessions with their team members. Ten years ago, when Michael entered consulting, he was surprised to meet bosses who didn’t have one-on-one meetings with their teams. Michael believes leaders must ensure everyone’s voice is heard and that their opinions are considered.
Soapbox Moment:
Would you like to inspire accountability in your organization? Michael invites you to watch his TED Talk, How to Claim Your Leadership Power. The next step is to give him a call or get his book. Don’t forget to check out his organization, Avail Leadership.
What Brings Out the Best in Michael?
Michael is fortunate to work with organizations that are ready to take their leadership to the next level. He enjoys helping them become better and stand out from the competition.
EXTRO
Michael Timms grew up in British Columbia Canada where he had the opportunity to ski the mountains, develop his talents and participate in leadership building events through his church. A formative moment came when he learned to calm his own anger after the humiliation of a spectacular publicly viewed ski crash. Later on, a two year mission with his church, Michael experienced the benefits of humility, teamwork, learning from mistakes and becoming a true listener. He developed empathy from his own work experiences and being the father of three daughters.
I enjoyed my interview with Michael and found a few highlights I would like to leave with you:
- Challenging a child to be his best self, as Michael’s mother did after the ski crash, might be one of the best lessons in accountability we can bake into our children. We are always better than our reactions and instincts and Micheal took that to heart at a young age.
- Reflecting on the negative effects of ego which we see falsely branded as leadership, can bring about increased desire to listen to and build capacity in those around us.
- Accountability is an ongoing practice of ethical, sustained effort to serve the two goals of leadership: getting results and caring about people. Michael defines a true leader as someone whose people want to follow them, not people who are paid to do what their managers tell them.
