Many business leaders have worked hard to build their company's culture, only to realize that they've created a culture without accountability. There's a healthy work/life balance and employees enjoy being together, but productivity isn't as strong as it should be and no one seems to be on the same page.

Many leaders are afraid of being "the heavy" and ruining company culture by suddenly holding employees accountable for their work. How can you create accountability throughout your organization without damaging morale?

Disengaged employees cost companies as much as $550 billion every year in lost productivity. As a result, frustrated companies are looking for better ways to increase employee accountability. But increased accountability on its own creates a culture of micromanagement that leads to unhappy workers. This, in turn, has a negative impact on employee productivity.

Recently, I've had several new clients take the first step on the journey of becoming their best by implementing the simple, proven tools of the EOS® Proven Process. A common theme from all of them is that they don't have enough time capacity. They have so many things they're trying to get done, there never seems to be enough time in the day. This is one of the first signs of burnout.

So on our first day together, we work together to get really clear on the most important use of the team's time over the upcoming 90 days.

Running a business isn't easy. If you're like most business leaders, you've got a lot you want to accomplish.

In a recent client session, the team had an a-ha moment while we were setting priorities for the next 90 days. They were frustrated because they felt like there was never enough time in the day to get stuff done. Even though they had clear priorities for the 90-day period, things just kept coming up throughout the quarter that they felt obligated to tackle right then. This put them over their time capacity.

When I begin working with a new client, I often hear the business owner describing their company in ways that give a peek into what's going on underneath the exterior they're presenting. They use phrases like "I'm up to my eyeballs," "it's exhausting," "I have to do everything myself," and "no one pulls their own weight."

It's a sign to me that these business leaders could be headed for burnout, even if they aren't ready to admit it to themselves, yet.