the weekly ramble » accountability

Do you ever wonder how you got somewhere?

David — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:03:48 +0000

Do you ever wonder how you got somewhere?

I don’t mean physically – although at my age….

I mean in life, in work – whatever….

You know the scenario – you plan, you push, you strategize, you create and you build – you see it all in your mind’s eye…. You start the journey.

And then – you get there and it’s just not what you thought – you feel like you are in another universe.

You are not where you planned to be – like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz – you open the door and it’s all different….

What do you do?

What usually happens?

Do the fingers start pointing? Is it hard to find anyone who is accountable? Do you end up holding the bag?

Are clients yelling or are your colleagues backing away, throwing their hands up, or are your significant others getting riled up…?

What do you do?

You can run…you can change universes. You can pretend that you have nothing to do with the situation. You can close your eyes and wish yourself away (oh, those ruby slippers…).

Or you can make it your own time and place. Listen:

“Remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” Earl Mac Rauch

I love the simplicity…. And there you have it.

Accountability is about time and place – it’s our real estate to own…or not….

And owning real estate gives you a stake in the ground and a place to return to and room to defend….

What do you think?

You either have integrity or you don’t

David — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:07:00 +0000

You either have integrity or you don’t. Seems most, if not all, of us are in agreement. And integrity and accountability crawl, walk, and run hand in hand. Again, I’d say, based on your comments, that we have a fair degree of concurrence on this point. So my final question in this series is this: If you have integrity, where does it ladder up to? Or do you just keep yourself siloed and isolated on your little island of honor – like a Robinson Crusoe, waiting for the serendipitous landing of a likeminded individual?

Here is my take – almost by definition integrity demands that you change your environment. That you influence your peers, create an atmosphere conducive to truth and honesty, and that you, under no circumstances, allow your surroundings to affect you in a negative way.

In fact, I’d argue – will in fact argue – that the following quote says it all:

“Truly great companies are built on ideals, not just deals.”
–Al Watts

Check any list of the best places to work – anywhere in the world – and I am ready to bet that you will find a company built on ideals – and a company built on ideals supports people with ideals and you get the point.

Ask yourself – does your integrity extend upwards and outwards and embrace and cajole and nudge and teach and occasionally push until you have created an unbroken chain of ideals? Or do you stay in your corner, keep your head down, and watch the deals go by?

Your call…now what do you think?

Power

David — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:42:00 +0000

Are you accountable for what you do? Or are you merely responsible? This is going to be my shortest entry in a long time. I have a lot to say on this subject – and its relationship to integrity – but want/need your input first. Don’t be shy….

To get the ball rolling – we all have power – power is not a function of status (amount of power or type of power might be, but that is another posting) – power is how we get our jobs done, no matter if we clean the floors or advise a President.

Listen to this:

I repeat…that all power is a trust; that we are accountable for its exercise…
–Benjamin Disraeli

A critical thought – do I hear integrity in here?

Do I hear you?

Brace for Impact

David — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:34:00 +0000

Brace for impact. How many times have you listened to the pre-flight instructions…watched the videos…read the little card…joked when they put on the mask and laughed when they show how to wear a life vest…or ignored it all—reading, talking or sleeping? Brace for impact…nightmare words that most never hear, thankfully, but a phrase that a plane load of travelers heard just last week mere minutes before their plane hit the cold water of the Hudson River in New York

I found out about the crash as I got off my plane from London late Thursday night—while pilots often relay sports scores and other news—this wasn’t something they would readily share.

I don’t know about you…but I became obsessed with the story. As morbid as we humans can be, and as much as we like to stop and watch tragedy, there is nothing so inspiring and motivating and hope infusing as a great dramatic story of near tragedy. Where the drama is high but the outcome is WHEW….

I provide this one link to the story and the video that actually shows the plane landing like a skipping stone in the water. As someone said: “everything that could have gone wrong…went right.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/15/chelsey-sullenberger-us-a_n_158331.html
But clearly there is more. If you read the story it’s clear that all owe their survival to “Sully” Sullenberger the pilot of the plane.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have trouble deciding what to eat for lunch. Sully on the other hand had to make split second decisions that were not just about his survival and the lives of his passengers but about damage to others on the ground. This was New York City he was flying over….

He was trained—yes. He wrote protocols on stuff like this—yes. He had been in combat—yes. But come on, this was different: real time, no time…

He acted instinctively. Did all the right things; made all the right decisions.

Was it training? Was it the “Blink” action? Or was it more?

I have read everything I can find on this guy. I say it’s more:

Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.
~G. M. Trevelyan

Sure he had the tools. But he lived and breathed accountability, for his actions and for the safety, NO—for the lives of his passengers and crew.

I don’t know about you, but I am in awe of this man and what taking real accountability can do.

I have also become one of the over 200k people on his fan site –

http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1006413295597#/pages/Captain-CB-Sully-Sullenberger/45557497235?ref=s

In a crazy world, here is something real to hang on to…

Word Threads

David — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:37:01 +0000

Look up the word “accountability” in a Thesaurus—very instructive. I often look up words that interest me to see what thought threads exist in their various meanings. Finding a word’s opposite meaning is also amazingly instructive. It often gives you a completely different take on how to use the word in question and sheds light on the power inherent in its meaning. If you look up “accountability” you will find on the one hand words like “task” and “duty”—duty being a much more evocative thought. You also will find words like “trustworthy” and “conscientious”—again words that begin to describe a bigger commitment than mere responsibility.

However, (here is where it really gets instructive) words like “blame” and “liability” show up. What does that tell you?

Think about how quickly accountability, or lack of it, leads to blame and finger pointing. You know what I mean. Think about how liability and its relationship to accountability and raising your hand are connected.

Finally think about this thought:

“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.”
Moliere

The bottom line is if it’s on our watch, we’re accountable. If it’s our business we are accountable. Blame (another subject for another day)—at the worst, accountability at the best—follows us like a blood hound no matter what. Hence, we might as well put our hands up; grab the horns of whatever it is and give it our best and most important shot.

A final thought: keep following the word thread. “Danger,” “burden” and “jinx” are on the journey. Think on it. Maybe that is what we become if we don’t step up to our accountabilities….

What do you think?

Holiday Thought

David — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 01:50:26 +0000

Personal accountability is one of the great hallmarks of leadership, and the ability to put your hand up – not point fingers or become a “Teflon” player – returns in full measure the trust and faith that your peers hold you to.

The context of the following quote has always bothered me:

“The Buck Stops Here.”
- President Harry Truman

Many of you know the story – this was the little sign that he kept on his desk. His view was that he held ultimate accountability for the actions of his administration. A few U.S. Presidents followed his role model and appropriated the sign for themselves – although I think a couple actually placed them behind their desks…

My issue is – what about everyone else? What a convenient excuse to look innocent and say “it’s not my problem” as a finger points and waves in some general direction behind and above.

The notion of accountability itself is right on. Its singular location is wrong. The buck stops with all of us – I once heard that when you point your finger at someone, the majority of your fingers are actually still pointing back at you…

Accountability is a local game. The more local, the stronger the accountability and I think the more powerful the organization. Accountability makes things happen, it drives leadership and makes management both more potent and more influential.

The buck at the end of the chain isn’t worth a dime…

Happy Holidays!!!