The Continuing Quest for Accountability Part IV - Top 5 Accountability Pitfalls

[Editor's Note: True Accountability can be the biggest impediment to strong results in a company. In Parts I and II in this series , we asked the questions: "Is a Lack of Accountability a Problem in My Organization?" and "Am I Part of the Accountability Problem in My Company?" In Part III, we addressed "Starting Down the Path to Greater Accountability"  In this issue, we outline the top 5 accountability pitfalls that can kill company performance. I hope you find this useful. -dpm]

The Continuing Quest for Accountability - Part IV

Top 5 Accountability Pitfalls

When people are held accountable - to themselves and their stakeholders - good things get done. According to Steve Tobak of Moneywatch, here are the top five "accountability" pitfalls that business leaders and executives typically experience. Some of them don't even appear to be accountability-related on the surface, which is why they're so insidious. If you want a high-performance management team, make sure you avoid them:

Unclear responsibility. Misalignment of Goals. This is probably the most common pitfall. Show me an organization and I'll show you managers with misaligned goals and vague responsibility. Two people shouldn't have exactly the same functional responsibility or own the same goal. If you do that, you're asking for things to fall in the crack. That doesn't preclude "matrix management"; the trick is to ensure goals and responsibilities are properly aligned. It can be done.

No follow up. Poor execution. This is practically an epidemic in organizations. Executives are great at coming up with goals, strategies, even metrics. Unfortunately, they're also notoriously bad at following up. I don't care how driven and entrepreneurial executives are; without follow up, nothing good happens. Companies must have a relatively objective and, sorry to say this, strict process for both setting and scoring management performance metrics.

Compensation plans that reward poor performance. Closely related to the "no follow up" problem, most companies have terrible executive compensation plans. Maybe 1 in 10 actually rewards the right behavior and has enough teeth to foster accountability. The problem? The bar for making gobs of money is set too low, and there's not enough difference between success and failure, plain and simple.

Management bad behavior. When it comes to management behavior, most executives and boards just look the other way. That lack of accountability plays a key role in business failures because dysfunctional leadership results in bad strategic decision-making and poor employee performance and execution. Granted, coming up with metrics for this sort of thing is challenging, but I think "360s" are pretty effective. 

Flawed company strategy. This is rarely seen as an accountability problem, but it is. When company executives push a flawed strategy, two things inevitably happen. First, smart people in the organization call them on it - publicly or privately - word gets around, and management credibility suffers, big-time. Second, folks will start covering their behinds, pointing fingers, acting passive aggressively - all sorts of dysfunctional behavior that wreaks havoc with organizational performance. Not surprisingly, I find that management teams at consistently successful companies make accountability a priority and, therefore, avoid these pitfalls. It take a real commitment of precious management time and resources. But not only is the payoff worth it, it's a necessity in our hypercompetitive business world. 

________

Plans Without Accountability Will Fail. This may sound strange coming from a firm that stresses strategic growth and execution, but it will do little good to establish strategies, action plans, and metrics without accountability. Because - without accountability, the results will be more of the same - disappointing results. The data shows that companies with true accountability greatly outperform those with a lack of accountability. Don't let another year go by. Neglecting the next steps in your company's growth and maturity can be very short-sighted. The next downturn is coming - possibly starting as early as Q4 of 2023. Get prepared. You need to have your company firing on all cylinders. 

We can help. The Mead Consulting Group has helped many companies achieve greater accountability...and better results. Contact us to discuss how we can help you do things a bit differently this next year.

If you would like to have a conversation about this, please contact Dave Mead at (303)660-8135 or meaddp@meadconsultinggroup.com.

The Continuing Quest for Accountability Part III - Starting Down the Path to Greater Accountability

[Editor's Note: True Accountability can be the biggest impediment to strong results in a company. In Parts I and II in this series , we asked the questions: "Is a Lack of Accountability a Problem in My Organization?" and "Am I Part of the Accountability Problem in My Company?" In this issue, we explore how to start down the path to improve accountability at your company. I hope you find this useful. -dpm]

 

The Continuing Quest for Accountability -Part III

Starting Down the Path to Greater Accountability

Over time, as organizations grow, certain norms become ingrained into the culture. In early stages, decision-making can be centralized in a few hands with key people wearing many hats. This is essential to being successful in small early-stage organizations. As organizations grow and people are added, decision-making, "ownership", and accountability need to change as well.

A culture of losing - If decision-making, ownership of decisions, and accountability doesn't change, it can lead to a culture of losing. What happens if decision-making, ownership of decisions, and accountability doesn't change? We see this with many Mead Consulting clients. Many times the senior people (including CEOs and business owners) have difficulty letting go. They are the "smartest guys (gals) in the room." They continue to want to influence all decisions, not trusting those lower in the organizational structure. Over time the middle managers and employees become conditioned to "delegate decisions upward." Decisions, projects, new products, etc. are not owned by individual employees, but become the province of the senior managers. Some of the symptoms are micro-managing, lack of commitment to goals, missed deadlines, poorly designed products, missing sales forecasts, and a general apathy among employees. 

Performance in these companies suffer, strong performers leave. In a number of these companies, a fatalistic culture of losing ensues. No one really feels that they have the power to change things. Ouch!

Cultures take about 3 years to become reinforced. We saw this during the 2008-2013 period when companies hunkered down, rewarded cost-cutting, and became risk- averse. When the economy started to rebound many company cultures had become so risk-averse that they missed opportunities - or were too timid to take advantage.

When belief biases have set in, it can be very difficult to get employees to buy into change. With companies with a culture of a lack of accountability, there are significant headwinds encountering change. Some of this is related to "Belief Bias." Because people have not seen positive change, they do not believe it is possible. Certain negatives have become accepted beliefs or truths over time. Some examples of belief bias in product companies are: "you can't accurately predict what customers want in a new product - it's a crapshoot"; "You can't plan production;" "Downtime is a fact of life"; "Management doesn't care/doesn't listen"; "We can't make money doing this"; "Oh Boy. Here comes yet another initiative"; "We don't know how what we do matters." When belief biases have set in, it can be very difficult to get employees to buy into change.

Changing Beliefs How can you begin to change a culture of a Lack of Accountability? It isn't about words, or slogans. You have to begin to change beliefs - with positive experiences that actively demonstrate a new way of operating. It starts at the top - with you - and the senior leadership. Pick a couple of problem areas and get started (Some of these are listed in Part II- Am I Part of the Accountability Problem in My Company?). You have to create new, positive experiences that build the accountability culture. It requires commitment and repetition, repetition, repetition. Remember, they have probably heard hollow words or seen abandoned programs or initiatives before, so it will take time before the employees believe in the new ways.

Don't waste time strategic planning or planning for next year. It will do little good to establish strategies, action plans, and metrics. Without accountability, the results will be more of the same - disappointing results. The data shows that companies with true accountability greatly outperform those with a lack of accountability. Don't let another year go by. Neglecting the next steps in your company's growth and maturity can be very short-sighted. You need to have your company firing on all cylinders.

We can help. The Mead Consulting Group has helped many companies achieve greater accountability...and better results.    Contact me to discuss how we can help you do things a bit differently this next year.

The Continuing Quest for Accountability Part II: Are You Part of the Accountability Problem in Your Organization?

 Editor's Note: True Accountability can be the biggest impediment to strong results in a company. In this issue, we continue to explore why accountability may be lacking in your company. -dpm]

The Continuing Quest for Accountability -Part II 

Are You Part of the Accountability Problem in Your Organization?

As leaders of businesses and organizations, we typically think of ourselves as ultimately accountable for the results and success of the organization. We likewise think we hold managers and other leaders in our organizations accountable as well. But...is it possible that the culture we have created actually results in a lack of accountability?

Consider the following behaviors and ask yourself, not only how well you do these, but also, how well you encourage these behaviors in your business?

• Do you actively obtain the perspectives of others?
• Do you communicate openly and candidly?
• Do you actively ask for and offer feedback?
• Do you learn from both successes and failures?
• Do you act on the feedback you receive?
• How well do you align each employee's work with the key results?
• Do you value loyalty or tenure more than performance from employees?
• How is the collaboration across functional boundaries in the organization?
• Do you always do the things you say you'll do?
• Do you track progress with reporting that is proactive and transparent to the organization?
• Do you actively build an environment of trust?

Setting up and Tracking Metrics is not enough. Some business owners think that setting up and tracking metrics from their managers is accountability and do not acknowledge the importance of the above list of attributes. Some business owners or CEOs we have worked with respond with automatic "Yes" responses to these questions. Some suggest that this is "Management 101." The truth is that we find at least several of these behaviors or attributes lacking in many companies and in many business owners or CEOs. In order to get the best results in your organization, every employee needs to feel personal responsibility and accountability for the results. Can you say that exists in your organization?

Submit yourself to some self-reflection. Ask your managers how they honestly think you score on these questions. You might be surprised that others perceive you differently than you perceive yourself.

If you want to change the results in your business, you need to change to a culture of accountability. How does that change start? 

In the end...it all starts with you.

Don't let another year go by. Neglecting the next steps in your company's growth and maturity can be very short-sighted. You need to have your company firing on all cylinders. The Mead Consulting Group has helped many companies achieve greater accountability...and better results.   Contact me to discuss how we can help you do things a bit differently this next year.

 If you would like to have a conversation about this, please contact Dave Mead at (303)660-8135 or meaddp@meadconsultinggroup.com.

Best regards,

Dave Mead