If character is what you do when you don’t think anyone is watching, then accountability is the outcome of how you act.
ABC Television certainly proved this point when it canceled its hit show, “Roseanne,” after its star Roseanne Barr made a couple of racist and anti-Semitic tweets. Rather than put up with a cantankerous star with a history of promoting conspiracy tales, president Channing Dungey said enough is enough. Bye-bye, Roseanne. And with it likely millions in profits because the show had a big audience!
Principles matter and ABC put its principles first. In doing so, it looked to its future, not its past. Had it not fired Barr, the negative publicity would have swallowed weeks of airtime. Better to make a clean break and move forward.
As the old saying goes, never turn a one-day story into a two-day one. ABC just topped that by acting within hours.
Accountability too often is regarded as what happens if you are caught doing something wrong – as it is with “Roseanne” – when in reality accountability should be a state of mind that elevates the nature of what you do. ABC can hold its collective head high.
On a deeper level, accountability like character, is less about doing and more about being. When we view responsibility as a mindset, it frees us to think of doing what is best for others rather than what is best for ourselves. Such is the operative force behind social service work. You do it because you think it is what needs to be done. People need help, so you help.
What nurtures accountability is a system of values that elevates the needs of the whole over the needs of a few. Operating with this mindset means that you think of the impact your decisions have on the organization, not merely on yourself.
Consider how to put this into action. Here are three questions leaders should ask:
- What does it mean to be accountable?
Define the steps you will take to be more accountable. Be specific. For example, don't say "be honest." Rather say, "tell the truth, even when it will hurt me to say it." Alternatively, say, "make decisions to benefit the whole rather than one person."
- How do I hold others accountable?
Consider how you will relate values to behaviors. Make it known that when people act in accordance with organizational values, they will be living the culture. When they veer from values, they create problems. Make it known there will be consequences for behaviors that hurt individuals and team performance.
- How do we make accountability a virtue?
Living the values means practicing them daily. How can you make accountability a value, that is, something makes us better at what we do and how we do it, at how we treat people with dignity and work respectfully? Such an outlook will liberate you to do your best work.
While these questions are right for self-reflection, they work equally well in a group session. Send out the questions prior to a staff meeting. Ask people to come prepared to discuss. From my experience, discussions prove to be generative as well as instructive. Generative conversations add to our knowledge. Instructive talks give us ways to hold ourselves and others to account for our behaviors, decisions and actions.
You may consider formalizing accountability as a value by creating a charter statement to remind people of its importance. Rather than delineating the negatives (don’t) focus on the positives (do). Regard accountability as something that enables you to do your best rather than as a check on bad behavior.
When we regard accountability as something positive, we position it as an aspiration, something to be desired because it makes us better.
