Accountability Based Management
Accountability based management is one of the most important principles in our work with our clients.
It goes without saying that in order to be accountable for a body of work and the attendant outputs, an individual in a role has to be aware of their accountability. It’s hard to hold someone accountable if they are truly unaware of or unclear about their work.
Some might be surprised at the number of role holders we speak with who say at some point “I think that’s part of my job… I’m pretty sure it is, actually, but I’m not absolutely sure… sometimes somebody else does it” (or something similar).
An important part of our work is clarifying which roles are accountable for which work (individually as well as collectively when they are part of a team) and ensuring that role holders are aware of and committed to their accountabilities.
In order to reap the benefits of clarifying and documenting roles however, there is another important element to a highly effective organization—the managers and leaders in the organization who actually hold people to account for doing their work in a purposeful and consistent way. And it’s this element—what we call the managerial leadership system—that can be problematic for many organizations.
The Managerial Leadership System is vital in Accountability based Management
Recently we met with the most senior executive of one of our client organizations. We had done a lot of work with this organization to realign the structure, and to clarify roles and accountabilities. We had many workshops and meetings to work through which roles would be accountable for which work and make which decisions. We emphasized the accountabilities of the managerial leaders and educated them on their unique accountabilities as managers of people. The organization was primed for a rapid increase in productivity. And yet, to our collective disappointment, they just didn’t seem to gain any traction.
Why not?
What we discovered in discussions with the Directors and Managers throughout the organization was that very few of them were doing the necessary managerial leadership work.
“I’ve told the team lead of the day shift that the maintenance shop floor needed to be cleaned up three weeks ago, and it’s not done yet”, one manager told us.
“I’ve told my people that they need to bring these issues to my attention much more quickly—they just don’t!” said another.
“We’ve known about that issue for several months now, but nobody does anything about it”, said another frustrated manager.
What do all of these issues have in common? For us, the answer is clear—they all demonstrate a failure to manage—a weak or nonexistent managerial leadership system.
People who are clear on the work they are accountable for, and yet fail to deliver on their accountability, need to be held to account by their manager.
What does accountability based management look like?
Circumstances may vary, but in many cases a reminder will do—something like: “We had a discussion about cleaning the shop floor yesterday, and you committed to getting it done. But today I see it is not done. Is there an issue that I can help with? Were you not clear on what I was asking? Do you need something from me to help you get it done?” might be a good start.
We routinely see examples of diminished managerial leadership at virtually every level of our client organizations—not just at the front line.
Sometimes executive leaders struggle with these issues with the people who report to them. Often, they seem to believe that senior leaders “should know better” and do not require any managerial leadership.
Our approach
Our approach to accountability based management establishes that delegating work and following up to ensure that it is done to the right level of quality within the stipulated time frame is part of the accountability of every managerial leader at every level from top to bottom.
Our experience has been that many managerial leaders have never been trained or coached in the application of basic skills such as delegating work, following up, and having corrective discussions. In the absence of any training or an organization-wide managerial leadership system, companies fail to deliver on these most basic requirements for an effective organization.
One of our most vivid examples of the productivity-crushing impact of poor delegation and weak managerial leadership occurred as we observed a shift change meeting in one of the mining organizations we worked with. We are not being critical of the individuals in this example—the system that they were in is a big part of the challenge.
The incoming day shift was gathered with the outgoing night shift. The outgoing night shift leader was giving a standard-format briefing on issues that might require the day shift’s attention. The conversation went something like this:
Outgoing shift lead: “And there’s a leak on the water pump on the number three crusher that might be a problem. You might want to have a look at it”.
Incoming shift lead: “Hang on a second. Tim (speaking to one of his crew)—you wanna have a look at that?
Tim: “Sure thing”.
These kind of conversations—vague, unclear and incomplete—can happen at every level in an organization. From an accountability (and productivity) perspective, this conversation is a disaster.
We followed up with the shift leader. What is it you asked Tim to do? We asked. Is he doing a visual inspection and reporting back what he sees? Is he diagnosing the issue and making a plan to fix the problem? Is this something you need him to do right away? When do you expect him to get back to you? Are you going to follow up with him?
“Oh”, he replied. “Tim knows what I want. We’ve been working together for years. He’ll get back to me when he’s ready—I don’t need to follow up with him. He’s really reliable.”.
From our perspective this approach is very problematic and makes holding Tim accountable virtually impossible. In delegating any work, the person delegating has specific points to cover to ensure that the work is delegated in a way that enhances accountability. Managers need to set the context for the work as well as a timeframe and the required level of quality. We coach our clients in “What, why, when” at a minimum—Here’s what I need you to do (the what; be specific and state what the work looks like when it’s done) and here’s why (the why; provide the context). And I need you to do this by the end of the shift (the when). Icing on the cake would be to ask “are you clear on what I am asking you do to? And is there anything you need to get it done?”
Delegating work appropriately and following up to ensure accountability is just one example of the work of managerial leaders at every level in an organization. When we work with our clients, we emphasize the need for an organization-wide managerial leadership system that entrenches the accountabilities and authorities of all managerial leaders. We stress the notion that this work is not “extra work” for managers—it is often at the heart of what they do.
In our next article, we’ll talk more about what a comprehensive managerial leadership system designed to enhance accountability based management and ensure the long-term success of the organization looks like.
This blog is part of our ongoing series Organizations that Work. To see all of the blogs in the series that have been posted so far, click here.
Every Tuesday over the next few months, we will be posting blogs that take you from the pain of poor organization design, to identifying the root causes, to the benefits of undertaking strategic organization review. We will discuss the steps needed to effectively align your structure and work with your strategy, and we’ll discuss the processes that take out the guess work and help you to get it done. Through it all we will discuss how to lead the change from start to finish.
If you’d like to speak with us about how we can help you on your journey to an organization that works, please follow us on LinkedIn or book a call directly with one of our partners.
This blog was written by Ed McMahon. Ed is the managing partner with Core International, and specializes in creating organization designs structured to deliver strategy and improve performance.
Our approach draws on several bodies of work including Stratified Systems Theory, the work of Dr. Elliott Jaques. For more on Dr. Jaques and his work visit the Requisite Organization International Institute at ROII Requisite – ROII Requisite.