Take Accountability for Your Own Success
Human beings have an almost infinite capacity to rationalize failure. For example, many years ago I was working with a project team at what was then Chase Manhattan Bank when a once-in-a-decade snowstorm shut down New York City for several days. For the next six months, the project team used that snowstorm as an excuse for why their project was delayed.
We too have plenty of opportunities to make excuses for our missteps in today's business world. Technology changes rapidly and it's hard to keep up; it's difficult to keep track of global competitors; new regulations constrain our ability to take action; economic ups and downs make it impossible to plan; and the list goes on. In the face of these forces, taking accountability is difficult and painful. Furthermore, accountability has consequences: If you take the blame, you may also pay the price.
One of the most common excuses for lack of organizational progress is that "senior management" (or the CEO) isn't providing the right direction or sending the right message. Over the past few years of writing blog posts on a variety of topics — innovation, simplification, customer-focus, strategic planning, information management, or whatever — the most recurring comment from readers is that any changes on this particular issue (no matter what it is) have to start at the top; that without senior demands, support, and action, everyone else is powerless and no real improvement can occur.
Of course there is logic in this argument, because hierarchical organizations do take their cues from senior leaders. People respect positional authority and therefore give more weight to words uttered from the C-suite. But these hierarchies (for the most part) are not dictatorships. In fact, many of the CEOs and senior executives I've worked with over the years are surprised, humbled, and sometimes frustrated by their lack of real power. And the best know that telling people what to do will only get them so far.
The reality is that the most effective organizations engage in continual (and sometimes brutally candid) dialogue — across levels, functions, and with customers and suppliers. For organizations to be successful, dozens, hundreds, and thousands of people have to be engaged and aligned around common goals and directions. That doesn't mean that everyone needs to move in lockstep, but it does mean that everyone needs to take accountability, to see themselves as part of the solution on the field rather than a distant observer in the stands.
So that's where accountability comes in. If you want to be part of a successful organization, you need to be part of the dialogue — to share your views, influence others, and make a difference. If you don't feel that you can take the initiative to do that, then either think about what gets in your way or what you can do differently. If conditions don't allow you to speak up and exert your influence, go somewhere else. But waiting for senior leaders or the CEO to make things better is probably not going to be a very effective strategy. It makes more sense to blame the last snowstorm.
No comments:
Post a Comment