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 "The quickest way to kill the human spirit is to ask someone to do mediocre work"
-Ayn Rand.
There is one vital ingredient that prevents mediocre work: Accountability. Accountability is the common thread which is woven throughout all professions and is especially important in today's business world.
Websters defines accountability as: The quality or state of being accountable; especially : an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to
account for one's actions. This definition promotes a negative view of accountability and is based on something created for someone else. It fuels the blaming mentality so prevalent in today's management.
People have a tendency to confuse the words responsibility and accountability.. These two words while, synonyms, have entirely different meanings. Responsibility refers to the duties and tasks to be performed. It describes what is to be done without specifying how well or how timely it is to be done. Accountability unlike responsibility is concrete. It implies a definable and measurable commitment to deliver a specified result.
The Accountability Paradigm
The accountability paradigm holds that the performing manager must be able to monitor his/her own progress as it develops and to take corrective actions as needed. It further requires a commitment to a specified set of results, in other words a clear aiming point or target and a clearly worded set of standards that allow a third party to quickly judge attainment.
The accountability paradigm changes the focus from responsibility for action (blaming) to Accountability for actions or lack thereof. It allows room for innovation and helps the performing manger better anticipate the future.
Assuring Accountability
Accountability is based on five specific tasks necessary for assuring true accountability:
1. Building a shared vision
2. Developing an individual charter
3. Identifying continuing vital activities
4. Deriving results oriented objectives
5. Deciding how to gauge the impact of your objectives
A shared vision changes people's relationship with the company, It is no longer their company, it is our company. Visions are statements of what the organization will create in the years ahead, this requires leaders who are able to deal with the future and can project their thinking about a wide range of possibilities. It is the ability to anticipate changes and to arrive at innovative ideas on how to move ahead in a changing business environment. Visions by their very nature stimulate people to develop a greater range of possibilities for dealing with where they are going and what they can do.
A charter provides the needed sense of purpose, as well as a clear definition of the department or individual's role and expectations. Specifically a well defined charter will:
Clarify what the department or individual is expected to do
Focus the energies and activities of department or individuals
Provide a basis for setting goals and making decisions
Motivating department or individuals to excel
Help department or individuals visualize their potential
Communicate the department or individual's purpose to others
Developing a charter should be more than just an exercise. The end result should be a useful tool for keeping the department or individual focused and on track. Write the charter so that it is both realistic and practical. Then, be committed to follow it.
Continuing Vital Activities are activities that are considered vital to the success of the business and which are continuing in nature. Vital activities are those work activities which if not performed well could impair results. Since they are continuing, they can and should be planned. There are three types:
1. Component
2. Supporting
3. Management
Component CVAs are those that are the direct responsibility of the boss. They in turn become the fundamental work of the performing manager that reports to the boss.. In other words CVAs become the accountability of positions at the next lower level. All of the work under a manager's direction should stem from one of the CVAs of that position, listing the correct CVAs is critical.
Supporting CVAs are the services necessary for the success of the Component CVAs. They are not under the direct control of the manager.. The performing manager is not the boss of the people for whom these are component CVAs., and therefore does not have the authority to order or command their work. It is crucial to the success of the organization that the accountability of the people who control the supporting CVAs is to ADVISE and SERVE.
Where the differences in the accountabilities of component and supporting CVAs are not well understood, problems erupt! Truly effective accountability is beyond the reach of any given manager and is attainable only when addressed as a total system.
Managing CVAs consist of four types:
1. Planning
2. Controlling
3. Organizing
4. Leading
Effective objectives are the result of two things:
1. A commitment by the performing manager to a set of results
2. An agreed upon set of standards
The secret of success with objectives is:
An objectives system will be effective only to the extent that all members employ the same defined procedure.
The preparation of good objectives is not self-teaching (practice does not necessarily lead to improvement)
Fairly rigid disciplines must be learned and practiced
Expertise can only be gained by a willingness to extend the effort
Gauging impact identifies and monitors (tracks) the key measures used to validate interim and final results, and what is happening in the current/new situation. Gauging impact answers the question: "How do we know we're winning?" "What are the results?"
The primary elements that need to be tracked can be found in the objective (What are the critical measures?) and the situation analysis (What are the root causes/driving forces? What else might change that would significantly alter the situation?"
Accountability unlike responsibility, implies a definable and measurable commitment to deliver a specified result. It is critical to all productivity efforts, with out it, the status quo wins out, and programs quickly become "Flavors of the Month!"
Brice Alvord has over thirty years experience as an internal and external performance improvement consultant. He holds a BA in Sociology/Psychology from Central Washington University and an MBA degree from City University of Seattle. He is the author of over two dozen books on continuous improvement and training.
For more information about Accountability, contact us at: http://www.aleragroup.com
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