Accountability: A Self-Check

I've been thinking lately about the subject of accountability.  After communication, accountability is the issue that my clients most often point out as areas that need improvement.  As a manager, holding my employees accountable was probably my biggest challenge.  Here are some of the tales that have come to my ears over the last few months: (As always, names, industries, and details have been changed to protect confidentiality)

Sam is not accountable.  I've been on a project team with him for a year, and every week he says that he's going to take care of his responsibilities.  Every week he comes back with another excuse.  It's gotten to the point where we've given up - no one counts on him for anything and he barely seems to notice.

We have weekly leadership team meetings, but all of the plans and promises evaporate as soon as we walk out the door.  We rely on our memories, and they are unreliable. The same problems surface time and time again.

My boss told me that he'd meet with me on Thursday, but when I went to his office he'd taken the day off.  This is the third time he's blown me off.  Then when I call him on it he gets angry like I'm questioning his authority.  I am!  He has no credibility with me anymore.

What are the hallmarks of an accountable manager?

1. They say what they are going to do.
2. They do what they said they would do.
3. When they are not able to do what they said they would do, they explain why promptly.
4. They do #3 as infrequently as possible.
5. They expect others to behave the same way.

What gets in the way of accountability?

1. Unclear Goals/Direction - If you are not clear on what your goals are, it's hard to be accountable to them.
2. Unrealistic Goals - I may say that I'm going to stand on the surface of the moon tomorrow - but I'm unlikely to meet that goal.
3. Poor Documentation - When we don't write down our agreements, we can't see later if we've met them or not.
4. Shifting Priorities - When every day brings a new "number one" priority - it becomes impossible to make steady progress towards goals.
5. Fear of Confrontation - If I'm afraid of conflict, I may agree to something when I know it's not feasible.
6. Overwhelm - When I have twenty hours worth of accountabilities to fit into a workday, something is going to drop.
7. Incompetence - If I lack the skills to meet my commitments, I am unlikely to do so.

When I ask people why someone isn't accountable, they usually leap right to a judgment of incompetence.  In my experience, this is the rarest of barriers to accountability.  Most people have the technical skills needed to accomplish their jobs.  What they don't have is the ability to set clear directions, communicate and document them, identify the real priorities, and confront others when things are unrealistic.

Probably the most frequent issue I see is a lack of clear direction and priority setting from upper management.   Think about it - if your organization is always in reaction mode - it becomes hard to have a consistency of priorities.  Everything becomes a priority!   I know one top manager who repeatedly took a high performing employee off of critical infrastructure projects to see to things like "find out why the hedges are not trimmed properly."  One day the top priority was infrastructure, the next it was horticulture!

It is impossible to have everything be a priority.  Such thinking creates a culture where *nothing* can be a priority because everyone is blowing off course every time the winds change.  The more consistent that top leadership can be about direction and priorities, the more accountable managers can be to those priorities.

Enlightened Homework: Do you meet all of the hallmarks of an accountable manager?  If not, take a look at the seven barriers to accountability and see if there are some places you can improve. 

Is there anyone else who you think might enjoy this article? If so, pass it along!  Do you have a suggestion on how to improve accountability?  Post it below.