Accountability is foundational to any relationship based on mutual good faith. It’s part of the deal, plain and simple. Own up to your end of the bargain—or own up to why you didn’t. While some of us are better at it than others, accountability—or lack thereof—will dictate the success of your relationships, and in the context of a workplace, often make or break your company culture.

Every leader struggles with interpersonal relationships at times. It’s a difficult dynamic. You’re a boss, maybe a friend, maybe a mentor. In today’s work environment, the relationships inevitably become more than managers and employees tolerating each other. The thing is, relationships are nothing if not messy. Add in performance reviews, improvement plans, and any other power shifts that create drama in a relationship, and most managers are heading for the hills, hoping to avoid difficult conversations—and, ultimately, too scared to do their job right.

The thing is, these conversations, when done right, lead to accountability. If you can manage those relationships and have a critical conversation that your employee needs to hear, you’re inviting them to give their ownership of their role. When you practice accountability from a place of employees giving ownership rather than you—the manager—taking, accountability transmutes from an often punitive practice, to a generative one that drives productivity, retention, job satisfaction, and, most importantly, employee engagement.

With Own Up!™ Jen challenges managers and leaders to own up to their accountability and communication shortcomings. Her simple framework is a clear and convincing approach that turns conventional ideas of workplace accountability on their head. Rooted in building honest relationships with your people, Jen encourages individuals to step up to the plate and really explore what accountability can accomplish in practice. There’s no time for avoidance. Eliminate drama and earn ownership from employees by giving honest performance reviews, simplifying feedback into actionable items, and giving them the tools they need to improve.