WHY ACCOUNTABILITY?
How you do accountability defines the working relationships fundamental to every activity that occurs within your organization. Accountability is the guiding principle that defines how we make commitments to one another, how we measure and report our progress, how we interact when things go wrong, how much ownership we take to get things done… It is, in essence, the nerve center that runs throughout every part of the organization, through every working relationship to every member of every team.
In many organizations, accountability is often done in a way that can actually sabotage your ability to get results. When we start working with a client, we often hear people describe accountability as something that happens to them when things go wrong, rather than something they do to themselves to ensure results and success. How you go about creating accountability matters. Often, it leads to what we call the Accountability Paradox: the harder you try to create accountability, the less accountable people actual become. This happens because people are reacting to the manner in which accountability is approached.
Accountability, done effectively, is a skill you can develop just like any other skill and while it is not a difficult skill to acquire and hone, it does require a high degree of conscious effort. When you do it right, you'll also find it the fastest way to improve morale. Getting people to take personal ownership for advancing the mission of the organization and achieving key organizational results is the most important step an organization intent on performance improvement can take.