Alicia was trying to make complicated sense out of this. “Each day, they are required to show up for work and do their best,” she muttered. “I don’t get it. It’s too simple. What if we are not getting the results we want?”

“If Joe’s team shows up every day and does their best, what could they do to get a different result?” I asked.

“Well, Joe could have them do something different, reassign a route, load the trucks differently to make fewer trips, double check the load for missing items.”

“Exactly, but who is responsible for making those decisions and assigning those tasks?” I continued.

“Well, Joe is,” she replied.

“So, the team shows up and does their best. It is Joe who we hold accountable for the results of the team.”