How to Help New Managers Build Real Accountability (Without Turning Them Into Mini Dictators)

One of the most fascinating parts of coaching new managers is watching them pick up the word accountability and run with it like they’ve just discovered fire. Some run in the right direction. Others… well, they run straight into a wall.

A while back, I coached a brand-new manager who was absolutely convinced that “being a manager” meant writing people up. He treated corrective action forms like golden tickets. Someone missed a deadline? Write-up. Someone asked a question he didn’t like? Write-up. Someone breathed too loudly near his office? Honestly, at that point, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

He believed—truly—that real management was about catching mistakes and documenting them for the official record. Coaching, conversations, guidance, development? Optional. A nice-to-have. Something you do only if you’re bored.

It got to the point where his team looked like they were starring in a corporate horror film. Tension everywhere. Productivity dropping. People whispering in corners like they were planning an escape route.

When I finally sat him down, he looked at me with total sincerity and said, “But I am managing them. I’m holding them accountable.”

And there it was—the classic new-manager misunderstanding: thinking accountability is a punishment, instead of a shared responsibility.

We had a long talk about what accountability actually means, which has nothing to do with being a paperwork vigilante and everything to do with helping people rise—not shrink.

Because true accountability isn’t about catching people doing something wrong.
It’s about building a culture where people want to do things right.

And that starts with the manager.

New managers often panic because they think their authority depends on being strict. They worry that if they don’t “lay down the law,” the team won’t take them seriously. But real respect comes from consistency, clarity, and humanity—not from ordering people around like you’re running medieval boot camp.

So we rebuilt his entire approach from the ground up.

Instead of waiting for mistakes, he learned to set expectations before the work started. Instead of writing people up, he learned to have actual conversations that didn’t involve carbon-copy forms and a witness. Instead of assuming people were being difficult, he learned to ask what was getting in the way.

It was amazing how quickly everything changed. His team relaxed. Trust was rebuilt. Productivity returned. And he discovered something shocking: coaching actually works. People respond to it. Accountability becomes natural when expectations are clear and someone actually supports you in meeting them.

The funny thing is, employees want accountability—just not the kind that feels like punishment. They want to know what success looks like. They want to understand how their role fits into the big picture. They want a manager who doesn’t disappear until something goes wrong.

And new managers need help seeing that accountability is less about authority and more about ownership—on both sides.

Managers set the tone. They define the lane. They offer support, context, and feedback. They hold the standard, but they also hold the team together. When they understand that their role is to guide rather than police, everything becomes easier—for them and for everyone around them.

The manager I coached eventually laughed at how he started. “I really thought management was just… paperwork,” he admitted. “I didn’t realize people would actually listen to me if I talked to them.”

Imagine that.

Helping new managers build real accountability isn’t about toughening them up.
It’s about softening the edges just enough so they can lead like humans.
People follow managers who communicate, support, and show up—not just the ones who can recite policy.

And when a manager finally learns that accountability is something you build with people, not against them—that’s when you know they’re ready for the job.