Changing Accountability Currents

Whenever an organization’s Accountability Current flows only in a top-down direction, the organization fails to help its people develop the necessary ownership and personal investment to achieve desired short-term and long-term results. The only way to sustain success in today’s erratic economic environment is to create an organizational Accountability Current that ?ows from the bottom-up. Bottom-up accountability requires an initial investment in time and effort, but the payoff is substantial and sustainable. Whenever an organization’s Accountability Current flows in a bottom-up direction, people begin taking charge of tasks, overcoming obstacles, and finding new solutions without waiting for someone else to do something. Follow-up becomes an ingrained habit with leadership expending far less time and effort sustaining a results-producing ethic throughout the organization.

Just last week, we met with a manufacturing company’s senior leaders to discuss their frustrations with workers who were failing to report progress unless asked, blaming others for a lack of accountability, waiting for direction before tackling problems, viewing themselves as unauthorized or unempowered, and expecting leadership to follow-up on everything. It’s a discussion we have quite often. Why? Because the Accountability Current in most organizations flows in a top-down direction. We told the senior leaders of this manufacturing company the same thing we tell all leaders: to obtain the full benefits of accountability and achieve “more results at less cost”, you need to change the flow of your organization’s Accountability Current.

For more information on how to develop bottom-up accountability in your organization, join our Accountability Community at www.partnersinleadership.com, where you can review the accounts of organizations that have actually done it.

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