Getting Accountability Right

There is a natural tension that exists between collective and individual accountability—too much focus on one or the other can compromise an organization’s ability to achieve desired results. For example, too much emphasis on individual accountability can weaken team or organizational performance while too much focus on collective accountability can diminish individual performance. Consider the following account of the circumstances surrounding the first Thanksgiving celebrations in Plymouth Colony.

After arriving in the New World, Plymouth colonists assumed collective accountability for clearing the land and working the fields, but their efforts failed to produce bountiful harvests or robust community spirit. Less industrious colonists withheld their best efforts, knowing that everyone would receive an equal share, while more industrious colonists became resentful, knowing that their best efforts would benefit those who had put forth less effort. Eventually, everyone’s accountability and productivity declined. The results were sparse harvests and rationed shares during the first two years, 1621 and 1622. Starvation and death eventually reduced the Plymouth Colony to a fraction of its original number. Recognizing that another unfruitful season could bring extinction, Governor William Bradford and colony elders shifted their focus from collective to individual accountability. As recorded in his diary, Governor Bradford “assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number for that end. … This had a very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could use … ” In its third year, 1623, the Plymouth Colony finally achieved a bounteous harvest and a truly inspired Thanksgiving. Working their individual family farms, the colonists not only produced enough for themselves but also enough to share and trade with their neighbors.  It was indeed a Happy Thanksgiving.

When everyone is accountable for everything, no one is accountable for anything. While having everyone feel a sense of collective accountability for achieving results is an important aspect of Creating a Culture of Accountability, you must also have individual accountability to make it work. Developing healthy collective accountability depends on promoting individual accountability and vice versa. Balancing these two requires what we call Joint Accountability and is critical to achieving organizational results.

For more information on Joint Accountability and how to balance individual and collective accountability in your organization, go to www.partnersinleadership.com. Learn how to develop greater accountability and alignment for increasing revenue and profitability, reducing costs, and successfully implementing strategic initiatives.