Coach BSO

The fastest advancing professionals are not always the most talented.

Many professionals wrongly assume that ability is the main factor in career growth.

However, experience shows it’s often about the standards people set for themselves especially those who hold themselves to higher standards and deliver excellence.

They are the ones that tend to progress faster.

For example, a mid-level manager I know was passed over for promotion twice.

It turns out that her work was good but not exceptional.

So, we focused on raising her personal standard, and not her effort, and she was promoted a few months later.

Clearly, your self-imposed standard is a vital career tool that will only cost you some intentionality.

DM me “STANDARD" to explore how to raise yours.

Most leaders view accountability as practising with others, having performance conversations, upholding standards, and following up.

But the crucial, often overlooked practice is self-accountability: being honest with yourself about your performance.

Great leaders hold themselves accountable first, reviewing their performance rigorously, asking tough questions, and acting before patterns form.

This is vital for mid-level professionals transitioning to leadership, where they must model the standards they set.

If you expect punctuality, deadlines, and honest communication from your team, you must demonstrate these yourself.

True accountability starts with the leader and I focus on building this genuine self-accountability in my coaching programmes.

If you're a mid-level professional who recognises that accountability is an area for growth, the "From Professional to Leader" coaching programme is designed for you.

📩 DM me the word "PROGRAMME" and I will send you everything you need to know.

Most leaders avoid accountability conversations for one reason.

They are afraid it will damage the relationship.

But the opposite is usually true.

Avoiding accountability conversations slowly and quietly damages relationships, while honest accountability conversations, done with care, tend to build trust instead.

I share 6 ways to hold people accountable without losing them. Swipe through the carousel and save it for your next hard conversation.

Over the years, I've noticed a consistent pattern in accountability conversations.

The ones that go poorly almost always do so for the same reason: the leader delays too long.

Yes.

By the time the discussion finally occurs, frustration has built up, unspoken tensions have strained the relationship, and what should have been a straightforward developmental talk has become a loaded, high-stakes clash.

At that point, the team member feels ambushed, and the leader feels drained.

And regardless of how the conversation ends, both parties are worse off than they would have been had it taken place three months earlier.

So, here’s what I’ve learned about what truly makes accountability conversations effective:

📌They happen early.

📌They are specific.

📌They are separate from emotion.

📌They are genuinely two-way.

📌They conclude with clarity.

This isn’t a complicated formula, is it?

It’s as simple as it sounds, but it demands something many leaders underestimate: the courage to hold the conversation before you feel prepared.

The reason is straightforward.

You will never feel entirely ready, and the right moment for an accountability talk is almost always sooner than it feels comfortable.

📩 Send me a DM with the word "ACCOUNTABLE," and let's discuss the accountability conversation you've been postponing.

When Jesus described the Good Shepherd in John 10, He said something that has always stayed with me.

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Most people interpret that as a statement about sacrifice.

And it is.

But it is also a statement about accountability.

Because embedded in that image is something leaders often overlook: The shepherd is responsible for every single sheep.

Not just for those that are easy to manage or that stay close and follow well.

Every one.

Including the one that wanders, the difficult one, the one that prefers to go its own way rather than stay with the flock.

The good shepherd does not shrug and say, well, ninety-nine out of a hundred is a good result.

He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one.

That is accountability in its most complete form.

I encounter two versions of accountability failure in most organisations.

The first is the leader who avoids accountability altogether and tolerates poor performance indefinitely because confrontation is uncomfortable.

The second, and this one surprises people, is the leader who applies accountability harshly and inconsistently, using it as a tool of control rather than development.

Both miss the point of the Good Shepherd model entirely.

The reason is simple.

Real accountability is not about catching people doing things wrong.

It is about caring enough for people to tell them the truth clearly, kindly, and consistently so they can truly grow.

This week we are exploring the Practice of Accountability.

And the question is, “How would the people you lead describe your approach to accountability if they were being completely honest?"

Democracy is not a public holiday you observe once a year, it is a responsibility you live every day.

As Nigeria marks another Democracy Day, it is hard to ignore the tension between promise and reality: rising costs that test patience, insecurity that unsettles daily life, and a system that often feels distant from the people it is meant to serve.

Yet even in this reality, silence is not a strategy.

For us professionals, this is not the time for detachment.

It is time to bring our competence into civic space through our voice, accountability, and participation in conversations that shape policy, workplaces, and communities.

Because when capable people step back, mediocrity does not hesitate to step forward.

The question, then, is not just what democracy is doing for us but what we are doing with our democracy.

Remember, Democracy improves not only when leaders do better, but when citizens refuse to do nothing.

Happy Democracy Day Nigeria!

Some leadership skills aren't in job descriptions.

They are human skills, rarely taught in training or organisations, often learned through trial and error at others' expense.

I've seen talented professionals struggle because they lacked a safe space to learn, ask questions, and develop the leadership skills they need for their next career level.

That's what I'm creating with 'From Professional to Leader,' a virtual coaching program for mid-level professionals transitioning into leadership.

It's not a course but a focused group with coaching, honest conversations, and practical exercises from day one.

If you're stepping into leadership or about to, this program is for you.

DM me 'PROGRAMME' to be the first to receive info if you are interested.

Your team is not confused because they lack ability.

They are confused because nobody explained the why, or the feedback was too vague to act on, or the last time someone spoke up, nothing changed.

Communication culture is built in the small moments, and it starts with you.

Six habits. Swipe through, choose one, and start today.

He was smart, experienced, and committed, sending regular updates and holding meetings.

But his team was quietly confused about priorities and expectations due to a communication gap.

Despite frequent communication, it was one-way, lacking genuine dialogue and understanding.

Effective communication requires a culture of honest, two-way exchange, which three key questions can assess. They are:

1. Does my team tell me things I do not want to hear?
2. Do I know what my team actually thinks?
3. Can every member of my team articulate our priorities clearly and consistently?

If the answer to any of them is uncertain, work on communication is needed.

📩 DM me the word "COMMUNICATE" and let's talk about your communication gap

Let's consider how God communicates throughout the Bible.

He does not just issue commands from a distance.

He speaks to people by name. He asks questions. He already knows the answers.

He meets people in their specific context: a burning bush, a still, small voice, or a dream in the night.

He communicates with precision, purpose and remarkable attentiveness to the person he is speaking to.

Adam, where are you?

Elijah, what are you doing here?

Samuel, Samuel.

These are not generic broadcasts.

They are personal, specific, contextual communication.

And the result, every time, is a conversation that changes the direction of a life.

I think about this often when I work with leaders who are struggling with their teams because almost every team problem I encounter has a communication failure somewhere near its root.

Not a strategy failure or a talent failure or a resource failure, but a communication failure.

The vision that was never clearly articulated.

The expectation that was assumed rather than stated.

The feedback that was thought but never spoken.

The concern that was felt but never raised.

So, my conclusion is that communication is not a soft skill of leadership but the infrastructure of it.

Everything else, such as strategy, accountability, development, and culture, depends on the quality of the communication that surrounds it.

This week we are looking at the practice of communication.

What it means to build it deliberately.

What it costs when it breaks down.

And what becomes possible when a leader gets it genuinely right.

Now, tell me, what is one conversation you have been meaning to have with your team that you have not yet had?