The Accountability Conversation

Recently, while reviewing month-end reports, a healthcare executive we will call “Drew,” discovered a major mistake that had cost the organization several thousand dollars. To make matters worse, he realized that “Jerry,” the manager responsible for the mistake, had made the same error a month earlier. Drew’s frustration grew as he remembered going out of his way to spend extra time counseling Jerry to make sure the mistake wouldn’t happen again. The first time Jerry made the mistake, it was out of ignorance; this time it was caused by nothing but carelessness. Overall, Jerry was good at his job, but the repeated mistake disturbed Drew. Without further ado, he invited Jerry into his office and closed the door behind them.

Before Drew spoke a word, Jerry confidently took charge. “This is about Amy, isn’t it? I spent a lot of extra time training her, but she made the same error again. I’m sorry, I know her carelessness has once again cost us a few hundred dollars. Do you think we should let her go?”

Drew remained silent, astonished by the similarity of the circumstances—two different mistakes, two different people, two levels of impact.

Feeling uncomfortable with the silence, Jerry continued, “On the other hand, so much of her work is commendable and praiseworthy. I could continue to work with her to make sure she doesn’t make this mistake again. What do you think?”

“It’s your decision,” Drew said, observing Jerry closely. “You need to do what you think is right and best for the organization.”

Jerry nodded. A few seconds passed before he spoke again. “I guess I’ll keep her in the position for now. I can work harder to teach her and see how it goes. Thank you.”

As Jerry got up and turned to leave, Drew said, “Hang on a minute, I have something to show you.” He then handed Jerry the month-end report and pointed to the error. “Do you remember making this mistake last month?”

Jerry’s face turned beet red as he slowly and quietly acknowledged the error. “I can’t believe I made the same mistake again. I just wasn’t paying attention—”

“Carelessness?” Drew asked, interrupting.

Jerry nodded, looking humbled and embarrassed.

“I can work harder to teach you and see how it goes,” Drew said with a slight smile.

“Thank you. It won’t happen again,” Jerry said as he headed for the door. Before leaving the office, he turned and asked, “What if I had decided to terminate Amy?”

Drew became serious again. “I’m glad you judged her situation as you did. There’s so much of what you do in your job that is commendable and praiseworthy.”

Mistakes are a common part of individual and organizational life—and everyone deserves chances to learn from their mistakes—but repeated mistakes and unfulfilled expectations, caused by inattention or carelessness, cannot be tolerated for long. When people in your organization fail to meet expectations because of a deficiency or inadequacy, you have to work to solve the problem in a way that prevents it from occurring again.  These accountability conversations are the first step to changing the course of unmet expectations. As in the story above with Drew, the accountability conversation with Jerry was thoughtful and instructive—all done with the eye towards building an organization.

Every accountability conversation will create an impression of the kind of accountability you are creating in your organization.  Is it the recriminating kind, the kind of the accountability that happens to you when things go wrong?  Or is it the kind that is designed to build and strengthen individual and organizational capability, the kind that people want more of?

To be most effective, accountability should not be something that happens to you, but something you choose to make happen.  As we see it, accountability is a choice—a decision to rise above one’s circumstances and exhibit the ownership and investment necessary to overcome obstacles and achieve the results you want to get.  That kind of accountability is produced by positive conversations that build capability and motivate performance.

You may want to use the complimentary Accountability Assessments at www.partnersinleadership.com to help you assess how you are doing.  You can even use the assessments to gather feedback on how accountability is being implemented on your team or organization.

Having the right kind of accountability conversations will reinforce the kind of accountability that produces results for your team or organization.