As our nation’s economic speedboat threatens to run aground, the economic crisis is a hot topic everywhere including our blog discussions as well.
What can you say about the acceptance of accountability, or the lack thereof, by our leaders – for this economic disaster?’
Has a sense of victimization spread rampant through our society, alleviating all responsibility?
It seems as if no one is to blame – so are we all to blame?
Discuss these questions in the context of the Four Principles of Purposeful Action, with examples and appropriate links.
This post was written by Chris Miller, who will lead the discussion for the week starting February 24.
I feel both Accountability and Victimization are sounds different but the action performed by both looks similar. Accountability reminds our responsibility. It is not compulsary to follow accountability. We may are may not follow it. If some one want to be a good they will never forget their responsibility. where as Victimization is some one will say that we have to follow. It sounds little bit harsh.
As a further note on GM, it sure seems that both the US leaders and the GM leaders feel a sense of victimization as these so called “bailouts” are negotiated. Wagoner and the other leaders at GM always want to point their fingers at past leadership and unforseen circumstances such as Union negotiation. I suppose it is true that these things were out of the control of the current leadership, but good leaders should always have their eye on the future as they use the 4th Principle while navigating with others.
I suppose I have to once again pick on GM. It is a company that should have been scrutinzed a long time ago by our country’s leadership. Had this happened, the company may not be in such bad shape.
It has been described by some as a big healthcare and retirement fund that also manufactures automobiles….Unfortunately, the economic crisis has really made this appear to be a real issue rather than a joke.
http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2008/12/general_motors_becomes_victim.html
Certainly cent agree more . GM is certainly been given an easy road for a while. And the article has a apprpriate title. Victim of its own success
Accountability is taking credit or blame for the actions you take. If you make a decision for your company, and lose the company money, if you have ethics you will be accountable for it
A chemist was working for 3M trying to make a super strong adhesive, but he made a weak one that allow things to stick, but could be removed. Thus making the backing for Post It Notes
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/postit.htm
A leader’s job is to ensure every member of the team wins, and winning is defined as meeting the organization’s top objectives. One of the best ways to establish an accountabilityis focussing on producing results, not activities. accountability is sense of creating a responsibility and ownership.
S T E P 1 : Establish the organization’s top three objectives. This means the significant few, not the important many. Once identified, objectives must be clear, concise, measurable and obtainable.
S T E P 2 : Assign each team member his or her respective objectives. they must allow the organization to achieve its top objectives. In other words, the sum of the parts must be equal to or greater than the whole.
S T E P 3 : Ask each team member what he or she needs to win. To help people win, leaders must remove the roadblocks that stand in the way. Do this by having each team member identify a maximum of three things they need to accomplish each objective. Have them put it in writing.
S T E P 4 : Agree on what the leader will do to help. Meet individually with each team member to clarify the roadblocks and agree on what’s needed to win and who will be responsible for making it happen. In all likelihood, the leader will assume some responsibility. Why? Because he is responsible to people, not for them. Being responsible to people means helping them get what they need to win.
S T E P 5 : Follow up. Each direct report should schedule a 30-minute monthly update using a standard color-coded results report. Results at or above the plan are in green and any area behind plan is in red. Focus the conversation on what was done to achieve green and if the results will remain green for the remainder of the year. When discussing red results, focus on what will be done to achieve green status, when it will be achieved and any help that’s needed.
S T E P 6 : Share lessons learned. Hold quarterly meetings with all direct reports present to discuss lessons learned, identify critical roadblocks and make specific offers to help any team member behind plan. Remember, the leader wins when everyone on the team wins.
S T E P 7 : Reward results. When objectives are achieved, ensure that rewards are disproportionate and highly visible. Those who achieve the most get rewarded the most– and everyone should know that. It’s just that simple. Ensure that people at the bottom are either improving their performance or being moved out. No one with poor performance gets to remain on the bottom for more than a year without action being taken.
Effective communication drives results. This means being direct and forthright with people in every conversation, letting them know where they stand, what’s needed from them and when it is needed. Often good leaders can become great leaders by reshaping the way they talk.
It’s also a great way to develop future leaders by increasing responsibility and encouraging decision making and creativity. By holding others accountable, we are teaching them to accept responsibility.Making and meeting commitments is one of the best ways to build trust.
http://top7business.com/?id=2215
Venkat, The seven steps interesting article.
Peter Drucker question: “What can I contribute that will significantly affect the performance and the results of the institution I serve?” If people served the organization, we would not be in the economic disaster situation. American culture has changed into instant satisfaction; this self-interest quickly becomes the norm and they avoid accountability. However, one can not do this on his own. ” Regardless of the situation, you cannot even begin to turn things around until you take charge of your circumstances and accept your own responsibility for better results in the future.” Deep down inside ourselves we know our ethical responsibilities and the need to enforce them. If an ethical employee was a whistle-blower on an unethical issue, they would probably get fired in most companies, and be a victim. If we act with a purpose that we believe in, we will achieve happiness; no matter what the outcome.
Sen. Joseph R. Biden, D-Del., said recently that the role of the whistle-blower reached beyond simply aiding law enforcement. “Only whistle-blowers can help us understand the culture that produces wrongful behavior. Understanding that culture is the key to fixing the problems, realizing meaningful institutional reform. In that regard, I consider whistle-blowers national assets.””
Cynthia Cooper became famous because of an $11 billion overstatement by WorldCom. She was the Vice President of Internal Audit and created the internal audit department at WorldCom. WorldCom moved costs into “prepaid capacity.” Financials looked better, and an easy way to fix the financial statements. “Wall Street wanted lots of growth, and that’s exactly what the executives delivered by the time the fraudulent accounting entries were completed.”
If you are in a situation that is unethical and don’t do anything to correct the problem, then you are at blame.
http://www.enotalone.com/article/6581.html
http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/7/21/173341.shtml
http://corporatewhistleblowercenter.com/
http://www.sequence-inc.com/fraudfiles/2008/04/05/extraordinary-circumstances/
Mark
Excellant examples of accountability, I really like the WorldCom example. How does anyone believe they can get away with this type of activity in a publicly traded company
Roy E.,
It would seem that these “leaders” would look to the past and consider the fate of all of those who got caught. I guess the potential rewards of unethical actions outweigh the seemingly overwhelming risk of jail time and career loss. However, it seems that over time more and more people disregard the consequences and we get to read about them on the internet and in the paper.
Perhaps if they had a better understanding of the “Brook” they would behave better
Mark, i like your comments and examples.