The Powerful Impact of Accountability

Morning Leaders,

Accountability is one of the most critical ingredients of personal and organisational success. Without a doubt.

Accountability is defined as:

When I worked for a previous technology company over 5 years ago I experienced a continuous lack of accountability. There was a constant blame culture and no one took ownership or responsibility for their work or behaviours. At the time I was frustrated and I couldn’t put a finger on why I felt so strongly about it. I remember feeling quite alone when pointing out areas of improvement or where individuals were repeating the same mistakes. Reflecting back I now recognise my values and the organisation’s values were not aligned. The company didn’t value accountability or integrity, they were nurturing an unhealthy environment.

I would quite often hear:

“That’s not my fault, the customer’s expectations are off.”

“Server has gone down because Microsoft had too many updates.”

“Why did Sales sell this, it’s a terrible product.”

In an environment where employees are blaming other departments, their colleagues, and even the customers there is little chance of establishing a cohesive team and healthy culture. Everyone wastes so much energy watching their own back instead of just owning it, accepting things that went wrong, and focusing on how we move forward as a team.

There is a great book called the Oz Principle which explains the idea called “The Line”. You’re either behaving below it or above it. Where are you?

When you’re behaving below the line, you see yourself as the victim and blame others and things for your shortcomings. You’ll use excuses and other external factors to explain why you haven’t made progress, failed, or even started. You see it as “why is this happening to me”. You see the other people and the circumstances as the blockers to your success. Naturally, those who behave below the line hinder the progress of their own and the organisation’s growth.

On the other hand, when you’re living above the line you take ownership of your mistakes and focus on your opportunities. You have a growth mindset and see things as “this is happening for me”. You accept that things don’t always go to plan and you’ll make mistakes, it’s part of the journey. The quicker you own that and discover what you could do better next time, the quicker you get better and move forward. Above the line people also don’t waste valuable time complaining or criticising others, they focus their energy, resources, and thinking on the solution and moving forward, not looking back.

Integrate these 4 accountability steps into you and your team:

1) See it - Acknowledge the problem or the mistake that has been made. Raise the flag.

2) Own it - Take responsibility, “I am going to fix this”.

3) Solve it - think creatively and propose potential solutions.

4) Do it - execute on what you agreed and follow through.

Where the culture is strong and the business thrives is when employees live above the line. It’s important that strong leadership exists too that coaches people and creates psychological safety so people feel comfortable taking ownership of mistakes and being vulnerable without fearing reprimand.

Successful people and organisations take full responsibility for their actions. They’re humble and comfortable getting things wrong. Wasting time and energy blaming others is a wasted investment. Those that thrive, accept it’s happened, and invest their energy and focus into learning and upgrading themselves, their team, and the organisation.

Hope this helps.

David

Resources Of The Week

• 1 to 1 Session - in the spirit of a recent Newsletter where I discussed giving back and helping others, on Monday 12th July I am away from the office for a whole day and have cleared my calendar to help and support others. If you are interested in having a 30 min conversation with me to talk through what you’re working on, your goals, challenges, or anything really, I would love to have a conversation over Zoom. Book a slot here.

• Book - Oz Principle by Roger Connors. The Oz Principle is the groundbreaking work that demonstrates the vital role of accountability in the achievement of business results and the improvement of both individual and organizational performance.

• Book - The Advantage by Richard Lencioni. Richard argues that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know and how smart they are and more to do with how healthy they are. Simply put, an organization is healthy when it is whole, consistent and complete, when its management, operations and culture are unified.  Healthy organizations outperform their counterparts, are free of politics and confusion and provide an environment where star performers never want to leave.

• TEDx Talk - Check Yourself - Charlie Johnson - Why are some people changing for the better, while others are changing for the worst?" Charlie Johnson shares how he discovered the power of self-accountability and how to push forward no matter the obstacles.

Quote of the Week

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