22 Factors That Promote Accountability
By Liron Marks, Ph.D
August 9, 2019
Introduction
People have been trying to hold others accountable forever. I just perused a book that was about accountability in England in the Middle Ages! Why did I review that book? I just finished intense research into accountability with the express purpose of understanding the factors that influence accountability in the workplace.
I’m still reading on the topic as well as talking with executives, managers, team leaders and employees about it. Evidently, it’s still a problem and the many solutions put forth in popular books isn’t working as expected.
I spent over 18 months researching, thousands of articles and books on accountability. The good news is that I discovered many actions a manager, supervisor, team leader, and/or team members can take to increase the likelihood that people will be accountable for their decisions, actions, and results.
My research has uncovered more than 50 factors that influence accountability in organizations. I’ve identified 22 that can be addressed by management, teams, and individuals. When considered as a whole, it became apparent that it is time for a new accountability paradigm. The old ones based primarily on results, appeals to personal ethics, and the way you talk to people just aren’t working.
In an effort to make my research more applicable in actual work environments I have tried to avoid academic jargon while remaining consistent with the concepts underlying the original accountability research. I have also included factors that I derived from the findings, if not specifically stated in them.
I am a consultant, not a scientific researcher. My goal is to improve organizational results by improving systems, processes, and cultures. This document is intended to provide other practitioners with a shared understanding of accountability and the factors influencing it within organizations.
What is Accountability?
There are many definitions of accountability. I’ve written a functional definition. That is, one that is influenceable.
Accountability is the choice someone makes to fully own the results of his or her decisions and actions when he or she finishes an assigned project or task.
By “fully own” it is meant the person does not present excuses or explanations that may have caused him or her to fall short of the goal. It also means the person can claim full credit for those decisions should his or her work result in exceeding the goal.
It is estimated that between 50% and 70% of projects, especially change projects, fail to meet their intended objectives. Since the consequences for failure are mostly negative, people typically make excuses or cast blame on others or situations that led to the failure.
Casting blame or making excuses seldom lead to productive steps toward preventing future failures or self-improvement through learning from one’s mistakes. Since most leaders are seeking improvement, it is helpful to have guidelines for increasing accountability.
Definitions: A “principal” is a person who delegates an assignment or task. An “agent” is the person responsible for completing the assignment or task.
22 Guidelines for increasing accountability that can be addressed by management, teams, and individuals
1- Ensure that the relationships between a supervisor and his or her direct reports are friendly and positive. A positive relationship between the two increases the likelihood of someone being accountable.
2- Demonstrate trust toward direct reports. Accountability is increased when agents feel they are trusted and respected. Close supervision and/or observation and questioning of actions (micro-management) may cause employees to feel pressure and defensive.
3- Delegate tasks that are closely aligned with acknowledged organizational goals: Work that is clearly aligned with organizational goals increases the likelihood of accountability.
4- Delegate appropriate levels of control and authority to agents. The higher levels of control and authority an agent has increase the likelihood of him or her being accountable.
5- Increase the strength of bonds among team members. The strength of bonds within team members and between an individual and the organization affect accountability. The stronger the bond the more likely the individual will be accountable.
6- Take steps to expand the network of relationships within teams: The more connected someone is within a team, the more likely the person will be accountable.
7- Ensure that teams and work groups enforce behavioral norms and expectations. The degree to which team members enforce norms and expectations influence accountability. Higher levels of enforcement increase accountability (as well as pressure/stress to conform).
8- Ensure that performance evaluations, recognition, and rewards are perceived to be fair and appropriate. The perceived fairness of these systems affect accountability. Unfair systems decrease the likelihood of accountability.
9- Ensure job descriptions accurately reflect actual job duties and responsibilities: Job descriptions that do not accurately reflect what actually happens on the job create confusion about responsibilities which leads to confusion about accountability.
10- Eliminate negative perceptions for failure within the organization. Organizations where failure is viewed as a negative experience, where people are chastised, criticized, or ridiculed for failure cause people to tend to avoid accountability and responsibility.
11- Take steps to generate a positive perception of accountability within the organization: Organizations where accountability is viewed as a mostly negative experience (one where people are blamed and criticized) cause people to tend to avoid accountability and responsibility and thus avoid the possible negative consequences of failure.
12- Communicate support. Tasks or projects that are perceived as very difficult or very important can cause stress or pressure leading to defensive and ego protective behaviors and avoidance of accountability. Principals can overcome this by expressing their availability and support.
13- Expand accountability to include discussions about more than results or outcomes. Accountability discussions should include questions regarding the agent’s thought processes, implementation processes, as well as results, with the focus on what was learned and how things will be done differently in the future.
14- Establish a one-to-one relationship between a principal and an agent. Multiple principals are likely to have varied values and expectations. This is confusing to agents, creating indecisiveness and reducing the likelihood of accountability.
15- Principals need to express confidence in their agent’s ability to successfully complete the assignment. People who view themselves as competent or highly competent are more likely to be accountable than those who view themselves as less competent or capable.
16- Ensure rewards for success are meaningful and attractive. Rewards that are meaningful and attractive to agents increase desire to succeed and success increases likelihood of being accountable.
17- Provide a work environment in which agents feel safe: A social climate in which an employee feels safe and comfortable is likely to increase accountability.
18- Provide clear goals, objectives, and outcomes: Clear goals and expected outcomes increase the likelihood of accepting accountability (unreasonable goals, objectives, and outcomes decrease the likelihood of accountability).
19- Ensure projects can be accomplished within the parameters of existing policies and procedures. Projects that can be accomplished within the parameters of existing P&Ps increase likelihood of accountability.
20- Clearly explain the agent’s role and responsibilities. Clear role definition provides a solid understanding of what the organization, team, group, expect an employee is expected to do which increases the likelihood of accountability.
21- Ensure the agent is fully aware of the team’s expectations, norms. Clearly defined team expectations provide a solid understanding of behavioral expectations of the team’s members and increase the likelihood of accountability.
22- Limit shared accountability. When responsibility is shared, it is possible that some individuals may not do as much as others and that not everyone will have the same sense/level of commitment or accountability. Shared accountability increases blaming others.
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