Building the Accountability Culture
When things go well, we love a hero, but equally when things go wrong, we like a villain – someone to blame. This is not just an emotional response, it’s largely how we get things done. We pay people to do a job and expect a positive result.
Our lead article sets out our current crisis of accountability. Across business, politics and public life, we have had inquiries into significant failures which seem to unearth webs of excuses, blame and sloping shoulders that slough off responsibility. We examine what we can do about this and conclude the most challenging of all is culture. The need to create a way of working in organisations that accepts accountability.
Lucy Cox examines how we can better understand and change working cultures to embrace accountability. She delves into the world of anthropology which has been studying cultures for centuries to develop a richer, more insightful understanding of that complex series of factors which determine organisational culture.
Mike Thackray picks up on some of the biggest barriers to creating an accountability culture – defensiveness and fear. So often the pursuit of accountability is seen by people as a personal attack and so they respond to defend themselves and blame others – who in turn defend and blame, and so cycle goes on with no resolution. We fear accountability for some good reasons. Our job and livelihood are on the line. Performance management is a vital component exercising accountability, yet it has unintended consequences, as it can easily drive more fear and defensiveness, defeating its primary aim to reinforce accountability.
In our final article, Gary Ashton explains the role organisation design plays in delivering more accountable businesses. We can take a rational approach to mapping out roles & accountabilities and establishing clarity of decision making – however, you can’t know and control everything and there are limits to specifying every action. We need some assurance that our people will act in a particular way, with due consideration whatever the issue. So as leaders we try to set the tone through culture; that’s why we have values and encourage particular behaviours in order that our staff don’t ‘go rogue’.
At OE Cam, we believe that culture is a crucial lever to influence people’s behaviour when the rule doesn’t tell them what to do… We’ve taken inspiration from Gillian Tett’s book “Anthro-Vision”(1) to explore more effective ways of understanding and changing cultures. Talk to us about how we can help you build a culture of accountability.
The Crisis of Accountability: How our Acceptance of Excuses has Weakened Accountability
by Mark Goodridge
Across business, politics and public life we have seen recent inquiries into significant failures with highly defensive testimonies and cries of ‘but no one told me!’. We pay Executives large sums of money to be accountable – but is there a limit to an individual’s accountability? Mark Goodridge argues that if accountability is embroidered with excuses, then the term loses its value. In this article he examines how we might foster a culture of accountability and (hopefully) avert a crisis.
Lessons from Anthropology: A New Lens to Understand Organisational Culture
by Lucy Cox
Lucy Cox delves into the world of anthropology to explore how we can go beyond traditional methods to better understand the context of culture. Applying anthropological techniques has the potential to provide a richer, more insightful picture – getting deeper into the complexities of human behaviour and reveal the ‘why’ behind organisational culture.
The Accountability Sweet Spot
by Mike Thackray
Mike Thackray warns us of the potential dangers of over-specifying accountability. In defining what you are accountable for, we inadvertently highlight where your accountabilities are not. With our reputation (and maybe our job) on the line, we will prioritise what is ours and defend our position – often at the expense of collaboration. So how can we hit the sweetspot of accountability with collaboration?
Designing the Accountable Organisation
by Gary Ashton
If we’re to build a culture of accountability then we first need to establish the right building blocks on which such a culture can thrive. We can take a rational approach to mapping out roles and specifying decision making – however, you can’t know and control everything so the design must be able to flex and support more dynamic complexity. Gary Ashton explains the role organisation design plays in delivering a more accountable business.