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Leadership Accountability

Written by: Gaylen Thornton

Article Overview: When a person is hired or promoted to a management position, where people are required to report directly to them, inherent in that action is accountability for those employee's performance and productivity. This often comes as a surprise or shock to a manager when they receive their first performance review and it is less than satisfactory. A sales person is solely responsible for himself or herself and the work they perform. Once promoted to management this accountability for what others may or may not accomplish is new territory for them.

Leadership Accountability

When a person is hired or promoted to a management position, where people are required to report directly to them, inherent in that action is accountability for those employee's performance and productivity. This often comes as a surprise or shock to a manager when they receive their first performance review and it is less than satisfactory. A sales person is solely responsible for himself or herself and the work they perform. Once promoted to management this accountability for what others may or may not accomplish is new territory for them.

Accountability for someonesactions is a very difficult adjustment. It is against our natural disposition to accept responsibility for someone else. The natural tendency is to blame others for the mistake or failure. Two reasons may account for a manager attempting to pass the blame to a subordinate or other manager. First, the manager feels that others view them as less than capable in their responsibility and undermine their authority and second, the manager try's to avoid embarrassment for a mistake or cover up. What every manager must learn and accept in their position comes from President Harry Truman's desk where he placed a sign, which said: "The Buck Stops Here."

Every manager who has accepted a position of responsibility for others in their charge is accountable for them. For their role, the buck stops with them. Playing the "blame game" lessens management authority, affects employee productivity and motivation, and stymies teamwork. Astute "upper" managers recognize when one of their reports is attempting to assign accountability to others and failure to accept this is worse in the eyes of those the manager reports to than the mistake itself.

Recently an operational district manager was discussing "complaints" with a valued customer. The customer was rather heated and demanding in their evaluation of the cleaning they perceived was lacking. The customer wanted results - not excuses or blame but what she heard; I didn't price out this business, we don't have enough people to handle the job and at this point the property manager exclaimed, that she didn't want to hear excuses, either the company could do the business or she would go elsewhere. The district manager's excuses were an exercise in futility with the valued customer.

In addition, the district manager made these excuses in front of the supervisor over the project and the entire conversation was repeated to others in the cleaning organization. The person responsible for pricing the account was, understandably upset, with the operational district manager, blaming them behind their back. The price was based on the original specifications given by the property management company and in an additional meeting the property management company agreed to pay more the special requirement.

Even though the customer agreed to assist in rectifying the cleaning issues, the damage to personnel in the cleaning organization was not resolved. Trust and respect was has been lost by the supervisor, the pricing person, and area managers that report to the district manager. Everyone wonders when they will be blamed for a mistake, and motivation and productivity has been affected. The operational manager's authority has been damaged by this incident.

The Bay of Pigs invasion was a huge failure for President John F. Kennedy. To President Kennedy's credit, he accepted full responsibility for the debacle. Speaking with newspapers, Kennedy said, "This administration intends to be candid about its errors. For as a wise man once said, 'An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it'... the final responsibility for the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion was mine and mine alone." There were no excuses or justifications, just full responsibility for the failure and his reward for the honesty, his popularity skyrocketed.

Mistakes, failures, and problems are a part of the business world and will always occur. "Failure, teaches Zig Ziglar, "is an event, not a person." The mistakes you make don't make you less of a leader, how you handle the mistakes will determine your leadership credentials and if you will continue to have followers. Contrast President Kennedy's handling of the mistake versus the operational district manager. The lesson to be learned; leadership and accountability go hand in hand. A real leader will be wise to remember that wisdom.

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Article Tags: accountability, blame game, desk, embarrassment, employee productivity, failure, first performance, harry truman, management authority, management position, mistake, motivation, natural disposition, natural tendency, new territory, president harry truman, sales person, shock, surprise, teamwork



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