Creating accountability

“The ancient Romans had a tradition: whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed accountability for his work in the most profound way possible: he stood under the arch.”

~ Michael Armstrong

Can you imagine what it would be like in your organisation if no one ever uttered the words “that’s not my job"?

In organisations where there is a culture of accountability people tend to apply themselves more and perform at a higher level. They do this because they know if something goes wrong, it’s on their head (like the capstone). Leaders who are accountable for their actions gain respect and credibility. People want to follow this kind of leader.

In organisations where there is not a culture of accountability, people blame each other when things go wrong. People can under perform as there are no consequences for poor work. They make up all kinds of excuses to explain the result.  Leaders who lack accountability might look over their shoulder and see that there is no one behind them.

To create a culture of accountability make sure that you and everyone else in the organisation knows just what their job is and that they fully commit to seeing it through. As a leader, that’s your job.