“Accountability breeds response-ability,” wrote Stephen R Covey, the author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. I had this in mind when I recently joined around 100 leaders to learn from Michael Merchant, senior consultant from the Arbinger Institute, about accountability and accountable cultures.
Michael reminded me of a conversation I was involved in with the philosopher and business adviser Professor C Terry Warner (who was a mentor to the late Mr Covey), in which he shared that the challenge was not keeping people accountable but growing accountable people. This has been an emerging topic of interest.
Most of us are aware of recent trends, mostly among younger workers, such as quiet quitting, the Great Resignation, and the “lying flat” movement that has been embraced by disillusioned Chinese graduates. These are phenomena that promise to be problematic for organisations: the first two are undoubtedly symptoms of work culture issues, and the third is a reaction to broader societal trends. Together they pose a challenge in a landscape of changing work environments.
The bottom line is that leaders must consider the cost of unaccountable employees, who are more than likely to leave if pressure is applied. Individuals who develop their accountability (and leaders creating an environment where this can happen) are crucial for many reasons.
Ask yourself this: What results do a lack of accountable people produce?
Without a culture of accountability, organisations can never optimise or streamline workflows to improve efficiency. Accountable people are essential to achieving greater productivity and ensuring high-quality results. Accountable people proactively identify and collaboratively address issues or challenges that arise or take the initiative and create innovative solutions.
Accountable people more effectively communicate progress, challenges, and needs. They are also much more likely to be curious and proactive in developing new skills, resilience, adaptability, and a mindset to get out of their comfort zone and navigate ambiguity.
However, do not be too hard on your people because accountability is not a trait we are born with. It is a learned behaviour, and it is the leader’s job to help people to learn it.
So, how to we grow accountable people?
Be a role model for accountability. If you do not show it, whatever your level, you have zero chance of creating a more accountable culture. Sorry, but this is non-negotiable.
Communicate and delegate to grow accountability. As well as seeing it in you, people need to clearly understand your expectations and be presented with tasks and projects with a chance to try. As with most things in life, people learn best through experience.
Remember, there is little accountability without authority. Your people must have skin in the game, and you must encourage them to make decisions within their scope of responsibility. Reminding them they have autonomy is much better. However, you must ensure they have the resources to succeed.
Shine a light on your increasingly accountable people. Changing how we do things around here is difficult enough, especially if organisations are well-established or political. You have to publicly and very visibly recognise and reward employees who consistently demonstrate accountability and be explicit and effusive about their contributions and efforts.
Conversely, make the consequences of not changing explicit. Sometimes you need the stick, not the carrot. But do not beat people with it. Instead, let them beat themselves about missed deadlines or unmet commitments. When they clearly understand the negative impact of their actions, they will hopefully be more motivated to change and be more accountable.
Encourage collective approaches to accountability. You can use group mechanisms to affect change. Encourage team members to hold each other accountable for collective goals and outcomes and let peer pressure speed you along.
Equip them to make themselves more accountable. Create an open-door policy for people to bring concerns, ideas, and suggestions and receive coaching. For junior employees, provide accountability training, time management and decision-making skills, even if the mindset is right. You can pair your people with internal mentors who exemplify strong accountability to guide their professional growth.
An accountable culture is also a collective culture. Recent Arbinger research found that 97% of decision-makers and strategic leaders believe the collective mindset directly improves their culture.
Results do not change until the mindset does. The key is changing how people see themselves in relation to others before any transformation is possible.
Arinya Talerngsri is Chief Capability Officer, Managing Director, and Founder at SEAC — Southeast Asia’s Lifelong Learning Centre. She is fascinated by the challenge of transforming education for all to create better prospects for Thais and people everywhere. Reach her email at arinya_t@seasiacenter.com or https://www.linkedin.com/in/arinya-talerngsri-53b81aa