As A Leader, Am I Holding Myself Accountable?

Several leaders I know are fond of saying “We have to hold our people accountable.” I think the process of making sure people need to step up to responsibility is a good one, but it really needs to start at the top. Unfortunately, I see many top leaders failing to hold themselves accountable first.

Let’s envision a plant manager who has a problem of extremely low morale in the factory. The supervisors are telling the manager that people are upset because of no raise in 3 years and the threats of layoffs. They are tired of being abused and kept in the dark. The productivity is at an all time low, and the only way to take cost out is to further reduce the workforce. If you were that manager, how would you go about engineering a rapid turnaround in the performance of your plant?

One interesting strategy is push your chair back from the desk, stand up, walk down the hall, go in the bathroom, look in the mirror, and ask yourself some tough questions like the following:

• Morale is terrible in this plant, and as the manager in charge, how have I been contributing to this problem?

• What is preventing me from fully holding myself accountable for this awful situation?

• In what ways have I been trying to lay the blame on the supervisors, employees, bad economy, suppliers, business downturn, competition, etc.

• How can I deal with the current situation and business environment in a more empowering and effective way for all concerned?

• What fundamental changes in the structure, behaviors, values, and vision am I going to make to completely change the environment?

• What behaviors do I need to change, starting right now, to build a culture of higher trust?

• In what ways can I change the attitudes of the workers by changing my own attitudes and behaviors?

• Since bonuses, or picnics, or parties, or hat days are not going to have much impact on long term motivation, how can I find out what really will inspire people and then implement the proper changes to the environment?

• How can I be a better mentor for my supervisors as well as train them to be better mentors to their own staff?

• How am I going to find a way to quadruple the time I have available to communicate with people?

• Do I need assistance to solve these issues? If so, what kind of help could I use and where can I find it?

• How can I know if or when it is time to pursue other opportunities and let someone with a different skill set handle the turnaround?

Yes, that is tough medicine, and yet I believe if the cold realities in these questions were internalized by some top leaders, conditions might start to change. It is only through the behaviors and attitudes of the top leaders that real changes can be made in an organization. Once top leaders step up to their own accountability, then the rest of the organization will quickly become enrolled in a new and positive vision for the enterprise.

Accountability is Key

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last few years (which actually may turn out to be a good thing,) you will be very aware that the world economy has been going thru some pretty rough patches. The doom and gloom reporting of the media reminds us daily that we are suffering a global recession that could take years to end.

If you are familiar with Spencer Johnson’s allegory called Who Moved My Cheese? you could be forgiven for thinking that your cheese definitely got moved!

Now, most of us will have some opinion of how this sorry situation came about. Hot contenders for blame range from the greed of the financial institutions to the inadequacies of the lending processes, from the outrageous bonuses promised to bankers to Joe Public who went way over his credit limit when he borrowed money to buy a house he just could not afford.

Whilst financial institutions are challenging and/or grudgingly accepting proposals for increased regulation of compensation and bonuses, many of them (including some of those heavily bailed out by government) are complying with new rules to reduce bonuses whilst increasing base salaries to compensate staff that would lose out.

We have to retain good staff, of course!

Accountability is Key

Let’s put the word “Accountability” on the lab table and dissect it so that we can explore the complete understanding of the word.

Business Dictionary defines “Accountability” as:

Obligation of an individual, firm, or institution to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.

My old copy of The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines “Accountable” as:

Responsible; required to account for one’s conduct (accountable for one’s actions).

Which is echoed in the online version of The Compact Oxford English Dictionary.

So, in the great scheme of things, whatever happened to accountability?

Personal Accountability

When I was a Project Manager – I was responsible for delivering projects within the triple constraints of project management, whilst the upper management was ultimately accountable for liability, direction, vision etc. However, I held myself personally accountable to the client, their relations, to myself and to any higher being who might be interested.

When I moved into the consulting sector I began to understand more of accountability for sales revenues, for knowing about my territory and customers needs, and for being a responsible and honorable representative of my company. I understood that commissions (i.e. the cash in my pocket) would increase or decrease in line with my activities and results, so that I was also accountable for my take home pay.

Organizational Accountability

When I became a senior manager I learned more of operational accountability and performance bonuses, both individual and for team achievements. I had “soft” targets about how I did my job, but the cash still followed the overall revenue and profit budget locally, regionally and at a corporate level.

Again, I held myself personally accountable for the well being and development of my staff, but their pay and bonuses would be awarded based on mutually agreed targets. All of us were subject to a corporate ruling that poor results = low or zero bonuses and the possibility of a pay freeze until the next year. Each year we would receive the rules that would be applied to our particular situation, changed as necessary to reflect corporate drivers. After all, if the corporation did not survive none of us had jobs!

One year we had achieved very average local results, so although the profit margins were not badly hit, the management performance bonuses were negligible. Another year we did ok in some departments and the staff all received good bonuses, but overall the corporation’s operating results were below projections so the management’s performance bonuses suffered.

Yet another year we massively exceeded all our operational targets nationally and received substantial rewards in line with the annual guidelines, even though other international subsidiaries suffered because their results were not up to the mark. Our local performance had boosted the overall corporate outcome on that occasion, allowing bonuses to be paid.

Did we retain our good staff, even in the lean times? Yes we did, because each of us took ownership of the part we had to play in the success of our worldwide team, as well as locally.

Nobody likes to be blamed for bad results and as leaders the buck might really stop with us. By acknowledging our own levels of accountability and clearly identifying to our team the expectations for their deliverables, we are more likely to stay ahead of the game and maybe even spot new cheese (opportunity) in times of change.

What are you personally accountable for? 

Are you willing to stand up and be counted when something goes wrong – then take corrective actions whilst learning from the experience? 

And when things go right, do you also try to learn something from the experience and pass that knowledge on? 

Do your team members also know what they are accountable for and understand the consequences of their performance in relation to themselves and to the wider organization?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Quantum Physics of Belief - Awareness

For the past few months, I was writing about our beliefs thru the science of consciousness and extending those patterns to the business world, to suggest innovative ways of using this wisdom to lead and succeed in a business environment that is constantly evolving at a rapid pace. Once we reach a greater understanding of how our thoughts and beliefs, in addition to actions, are actualizing the world, our organizations will run differently. This realization sheds light on how the role of leadership is changing and which types of leaders will become the most sought after in the 21^st century.

As per quantum physics, the thoughts and beliefs of people in an organization have an impact on the events that occur. In particular, when groups of people intend that a particular outcome is achieved, the intentions themselves have an impact on events, so that the outcome is more likely to occur in the direction of the intentions. An intention is a conscious desire for a particular outcome and a belief that the outcome can be influenced.

To have the highest intentions for the success of an organization, be it a business or a nation, people need to feel responsible for it. Taking responsibility for something means you understand you have a role in creating it and therefore can help create something different. Even if we haven’t taken action to contribute to a particular organizational outcome, our thoughts and beliefs are influencing the outcome of any organization of which we are part of. When we accept this responsibility, we stop blaming others for the outcomes, and naturally develop intentions for the success of the organization. These intentions then help promote success.

Our businesses and societies will therefore, be better off when people accept their responsibilities for having created the current conditions and then lend their intentions, if not also their actions, to improving conditions. Ultimately, each individual will have to decide whether they accept this responsibility and where they will place the focus of their intentions. Inevitably, leaders play a pivotal role by either helping or hindering a strong sense of responsibility in their organizations. So the question is ‘how good are our current leadership practices at getting people to feel responsible for the outcomes?’

The answer to this is complex and multi-faceted, but for now let’s focus on the degree of egocentricity that leaders possess. The reality is that most business leaders got to a position of leadership by showing that they were better than others, so it’s natural for them to continue to proliferate that feeling. Furthermore, business structures are hierarchical in nature, and top executives really are held more accountable than those at lower levels. These factors are a natural hindrance to getting all employees of a company to feel responsible for the company’s outcomes.

I must point out that I am not talking about just holding people accountable for the results of their job. There is a huge difference between a person feeling motivated to achieve specific job results vs. feeling responsible for the outcomes of the business.

Getting all employees to feel responsible for business outcomes requires that we adopt a different belief about what type of leader is most effective and then begin to choose different types of leaders. We need leaders who are humble, to the point of being understated and even self-effacing. This doesn’t mean they are not strong enough to make tough decisions, because they need to be, but they need to be able to stand in the presence of their followers without usurping their power. Business research actually shows this type of leader is more effective.

As a leader, the way you perceive the world around you has a huge impact on your decisions. The way you perceive is determined by all the life you have been living (or NOT living) until now!

There are many levels of decision making and the way you perceive your surroundings determine if you are a great decision maker or just an average Joe trying to make it through the day.

There is a new paradigm emerging. Until now mankind has allowed itself to blame anything and anybody for almost everything and thus leave huge opportunities to take responsibility behind. Huge opportunities to become better at being human beings and greater Leaders in our families, our lives, our communities and even in our countries have been left behind.

This psychological malfunction has brought humanity to where we are today and the leaders of today – whether we are leading multinational companies or we are leading our selves through life, are going to be extinct very soon if this continues. Evolution is determined by survival of the fittest and until now this blaming strategy has somehow worked – at least to some degree. The strategy is: I am right therefore you are wrong! Or I am innocent and you are guilty. Polarization. Segregation.

We must realize that this strategy will destroy us if we continue. Or at least it will destroy the archetype of blaming which is needed, and make a perfect transition into a new era. The old strategy was dividing everything – in me and you, good or bad etc. The new strategy which we will need to make a decent world is: Wholeness!

We have to learn to think in 'us' instead of 'you or me'. Every decision a leader makes that is based solely on his or her own perception of life is doomed to fail. (S)He does not realize that even the smallest decision is a thread in a web that includes all living creatures, and anything from 'outside' can make their decision fail. You can't make a decision without being aware of everything else that can influence your decision and you can't be aware if you don't train your awareness!! Just like you can't play piano like Mozart without practicing!

This awareness has multiple levels. The first level is to be aware of yourself! You have to be aware of your emotions, your thoughts, your (determined) actions, and your behavior. You MUST know why you have the feelings you experience. You have to know why you think the thoughts you are thinking. You have to know why you are acting the way you are acting. You have to be able to watch your self from outside your self!

The next level is the same but your awareness now includes other people’s thoughts, feelings and behavior. The ability to be aware of other peoples’ lives is much easier if you know and understand what is going on inside your self. First it is our family and close colleagues. Next it is those that I don't know personally but they come and go in my life. It is people from other departments in my company; it's the people on the street and in the shops. Those I see but not necessarily talk to.

The third level is to apply the same awareness to the whole world. Be aware of everything; All the time. And make decisions accordingly…

We are going to change evolution. This is not an easy task. But on top of the biological evolution we now have to focus on the evolution of consciousness; We even have to add the evolution of consciousness.

We all have a responsibility for this planet. It is not just those we pay to run our country that has this responsibility. We ALL have! And the only way we can do it right is by training our personal awareness skills.

One of the absolute key traits of The New Leader is Self Awareness. Know thy self. This kind of personal mastery demands having a heightened understanding of one's own behavior, limitations and motivations, skills and a mindset of Global awareness.

The patriarchal leader is on his way to extinction. He did not make it through evolution of awareness and now The New Leader evolves and takes over the world stage. The old leader was disciplined and there were no room for emotions as they could negatively influence decisions – well some people really believed this stuff! On our way to Leadership at the World Stage, Awareness and Leadership becomes wholeness. The outcome is Impact, Power, Insight, Integrity, Ethics beyond measure and Social and Emotional Intelligence. Creative Intelligence followed by Spiritual Intelligence will also be active ingredients in Leader Skills in the future.

The lessons we learn from scientific and business research can give us great insight into how to improve the leadership of nations. Here is a radical statement but one that is supported by research: stop making governments responsible for the economy. The science and business research show us that we are collectively creating the conditions of our economy and, furthermore, that getting everyone to take responsibility for it will improve the conditions. Yet we are continually expecting our leaders to fix it and then blaming them when they can’t.

I have no desire to get into a discussion of which political ideals are more correct. However, I do think John F. Kennedy was on the right track when he said “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”.  These words reflect an understanding of the importance of each person taking responsibility for the world we are creating.