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Try this
The answer is pretty simple: Assign someone to keep things focused and to monitor your progress – someone who understands both the results you want to see, and the importance of aligning actions with those results.

Call that person the Outcomes Monitor. Call them the Keeper of the Vision. Call them the Alignment Queen.

That person’s “real” title might be program manager. Or perhaps they are a fund development person. Or the chief impact officer.

In this aspect of their job, though, their role is to listen during team meetings, to ensure that logistical decisions are aligned with community-focused outcomes.

• Are the actions likely to create the conditions you hoped to create?
• Does it feel like the actions are aligned with the organization’s values?

Reports at staff and board meetings tend to focus on actions. What did the team do? Unfortunately, those actions don’t really matter if they are not creating the desired outcomes. And as we have seen too often, those actions might even go counter to your desired results. (See the Resource section below for more about that).

The role of the Outcomes Monitor is therefore to keep returning the focus to what is being accomplished. Will the proposed actions accomplish the best possible results? Would an adjustment here or there better align the work with the ultimate goal and your organization’s values?

Given our human propensity to focus on action and doing and logistics, this person’s role would be to keep your focus on the prize – the conditions you want to create in the community.

From there, the job is about communication – reporting on how things are going. It could be a report to the board or CEO. It could be a feature in your newsletter. Because working WITH your community members means an ongoing conversation.

Last month, we took steps to address X condition in our community. In alignment with our values, we decided to take Approach A, rather than Approach B. We’re hoping to see the following results in the next few years. Want to be part of making that happen? Let us know!

Creating community outcomes is not just about the actions you take. It’s about tracking the results and being in ongoing communication with the people who will be affected. (Hopefully they were part of the decision to take that approach in the first place!)

That is what accountability is all about. It’s what inclusion is all about. It’s what it looks like to build on the strengths of our communities. And the questions of Catalytic Thinking help to make it all possible.