“But what about the overtime part?” Sheila described. “My team knows they can’t just decide to work overtime without my approval.”

“The person accountable for results has to make decisions that impact the result. When the team thinks they are accountable for the result, they will try to make those decisions. You set up the conflict by misrepresenting the accountability,” I replied.

“Okay, okay, I am accountable for the result, but they have to have some responsibility in all this,” Sheila complained.

“Yes, the contract.”

“But, we don’t have a contract with our hourly workers. What do you mean they should have a contract?”

“It’s a simple contract,” I explained. “It makes things very clear. The manager is accountable for the results (the output) of the team. The contract outlines what each team member is accountable for.”

“So, tell me,” Sheila asked. “What’s in the contract?”