Upon commissioning and reaffirmed at every promotion thereafter, military officers take the oath of office which starts thus, “I do solemnly swear, that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and that I will be true faith and allegiance to the same.”
In swearing allegiance to the constitution—not to a person or a political party—the officer underwrites the basis of leadership accountability in support of the higher principles that guided this country to its freedom.
It is indeed a solemn oath and an equally solemn responsibility that animates everything the officer does thereafter.
Accountability is an internal sense of ownership of 1) the responsibilities you are assigned as a leader and 2) the consequences for the results you are responsible to produce whether you are successful or not. It also assumes a certain moral responsibility on the part of the leader to actually be accountable.
According to ethics scholar Geoff Hunt, accountability “is the readiness or preparedness to give an explanation or justification to relevant others (stakeholders) for one’s judgments, intentions, acts and omissions when appropriately called upon to do so. It is [also] a readiness to have one’s actions judged by others and, where appropriate, accept responsibility for errors, misjudgments and negligence and recognition for competence, conscientiousness, excellence and wisdom. It is a preparedness to change in the light of improved understanding gained from others.”
In leadership terms, accountability means:
“I am responsible.”
“I am willing to be held to standards.”
“I work to produce the results expected of me—and more if I can.”
“I admit when I am wrong.”
“I own failure when it happens.”
“I don’t assign blame. I look in the mirror.”
“I act in accordance with my organization’s values and vision”
President Harry Truman’s famous sign on his desk said, “The buck stops here” clearly indicated where accountability lay. In contrast, “passing the buck” characterize people who rationalize, create excuses, blame others, procrastinate, complain, and do the minimum. They say things like:
“I didn’t know”
“I wasn’t there“
“I don’t have time”
“It’s not my job”
“That’s just the way I am”
“Nobody told me” “
“It isn’t really hurting anyone”
“I’m just following orders”
This unaccountability, if left unchecked is like a highly contagious disease within the organization and invites disaster like that seen with Enron and Abu Ghraib.
When all is said and done, accountability may very well be the fundamental constituent of heroic leadership: the willing individual acceptance of responsibility to a higher purpose, a commitment to produce expected results, and a readiness to be judged on your behavior and your results.
By Joe Scherrer | The Leadership Crucible
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