You Don’t Need To Hold Me Accountable

Accountability is one of those overused and often misunderstood buzzwords. People get together in what they refer to as accountability groups which are in reality re-countability groups.  People in this type of group get together to recount what has happened in their life over the last week or so, which may also include a time of reflection and confession.

Suppose I am part of a group who is trying to lose weight.  I regularly meet with other people to talk about my diet and weight loss program. It usually works like this: I tell the group how much weight I need to lose and the period of time over which I need to lose it. At subsequent meetings I share my success for which I am applauded or share my failure at which time I am encouraged to work harder. So what motivates my weight loss? Is it the value of a healthy lifestyle or the fear of being shamed?

I have an accounting program to track the financial position of my business, including a comparison of my budget to actual. It measures my compliance to the value of ensuring that my income exceeds my outgo so my upkeep doesn't become my downfall. I am not concerned in the least about meeting with an accountability group to demonstrate that my business is profitable. Why? Because I am intrinsically motivated; it is a personal value. I want my business to be successful because that is what is important to me. (I neglected to mention that it is also a value of my bank manager).

Currently I am meeting with two other men who are vocationally in a similar situation where we are required to manage our own time. Each of us has decided that time management is important. We do not connect to hold each other accountable but rather to look at ways in which we can individually be more effective in accomplishing our stated values.

The current use of the term accountability usually implies that others will hold me responsible to do something which I do not value enough to do on my own.

This concept of accountability is not original with me. One of the best books I have read recently is The Twelve Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington, in which they discuss accountability as a character trait.

Why I Don’t Like Policies

Did you know that according to www.crazylaws.com it is illegal in California to set a mouse trap without a hunting license?

In New York, the penalty for jumping off a building is death.

In Danville, Pennsylvania, all fire hydrants must be checked one hour before all fires.

In Oklahoma, you can be arrested for making an ugly face at a dog.

Whether it is a municipal law or the policy of an organization, there are is no shortage of edicts which are unrealistic, unenforceable, unreasonable or just plain stupid.

One of the problems people see with Policy Governance^® is that it contains the word “policy”. Just the use of that word conjures up all kinds of negative impressions. Policies are often equated with carefully worded restrictions which are placed in a binder, never to be seen again until someone drags it out and arbitrarily uses it to their advantage.

To avoid boards getting hung up on policies I start by asking what it values; what could happen or not happen within the organization that would concern or upset the board? What does it deem vital to be accomplished or is critical to be avoided?

A board with which I am familiar recently received a letter from a government department indicating that the organization was behind on remitting employee deductions. The board members were alarmed to find out that they could be ultimately held liable for these obligations. However the board had no policy that required the leader to make those deductions; it just assumed the payments were being made. Because this detail is important to the board, it would have helped if the board had a policy such as “the leader shall not allow government ordered payments to be overdue or inaccurately filed”. However it is of limited value if the board does not monitor that policy by asking regularly if the leader is in compliance with the policy.

 A board does not need to become obsessed with policies. All it needs to do is decide what it values and then articulate those values in the form of a policy and follow up to ensure that the leader complies with the value-based policies of the board.

No need for crazy rules, irrelevant edicts or dusty policies. State what you value and monitor what you state.