What this country needs – now more than ever – is a new culture of accountability. We need everyone from our politicians to our banks to stand up and take responsibility for what has been done, and to be held accountable for mistakes that have been made as well as for successes that are achieved.
I genuinely believe that we have a culture problem in the U.K., but I also believe that CEOs must ensure that accountability is built into their businesses and that they are ready to be held responsible when something goes wrong.
Almost every major news story that has dominated the press in the last few years, has in some way come down to a lack of accountability. For example, look at the Leveson Inquiry, where still no one is willing to take responsibility for the phone hacking that took place. Take the expenses scandal, where neither Government nor MPs were willing to take the blame for exploiting regulation. And finally, look at Hillsborough, where only now, 23 years later, we are beginning to see the extent of the shocking deceit of those involved in the cover up, and still don’t know what punishments those responsible will face.
All of these events, I believe, have served as a catalyst for change where consumers, shareholders (just look at shareholder spring), readers and voters are starting to demand accountability from those that they put their trust in. And I think that most businesses still have a long way to go.
In business, this wind of change will mean that CEOs will need to make sure that accountability is hardwired into the very core of their companies, not just at executive level. Only then can businesses be ready to meet the demands of their stakeholders and protect their reputations.
The good news is that accountability can only improve a business, and a company that embeds it in its culture, will only be more successful.
Personal responsibility and accountability makes better teams
This is self-evidently true. If a team member has no sense of personal responsibility, then the chances are that things won’t get done on time, if they’re done at all. This will impact the rest of the team who are held up by one individual person. If you can create a culture of personal responsibility then you will have teams that work together to achieve your business goals. Every single person in your organisation needs to know that they will personally be held accountable for those things that sit within their area of experience. In order for a team to work, there needs to be accountability for results both individually and collectively.
Getting rid of the fear of failure
I think one of the reasons why businesses have a problem with a lack of accountability is that in this day and age, everyone is terrified to fail. Now a little fear of failure can be healthy, but the fact of the matter is, that statistically, even if you try your hardest and you do everything you can, sometimes you’re still going to fail at something. And if we want people to do the best job they can we need to let them know that sometimes it’s okay to fail, so long as they’ve tried their hardest, and done everything that is asked of them.
Let me try and give an example from within the world of PR to explain what I mean. Sometimes, no matter how good a story is, and how hard you try to sell it in, it’s just not going to get any coverage. Sometimes – factors beyond your control (such as a number of huge news stories breaking) may mean that for whatever reason, that day, no one is going to bite. However, so often, people are too scared to say ‘look, this didn’t work – let’s try something else’ because they’re afraid of the stigma of failure. So no one accepts responsibility, and no one takes charge of seeing if there’s another way. If there’s no accountability, no one is going to put themselves out there, to try new and creative ways to achieve results.
Accountability from the top down
As is true with so many characteristics that make a good business, accountability only works if it comes from the top down. It is not enough to expect accountability from your staff – you also need to be accountable yourself. If a junior staff member sees a culture where directors of the board are consistently missing deadlines – you are sending the message that missing deadlines is okay.
Accountability in the media
Another key element of this is accountability in the media. If a company does something wrong, executives need to step up and apologise for it. Stakeholders want to know that if something goes wrong, at any level in the organisation, apologies will be made, responsibility will be taken and lessons will be learnt.
Every time a customer or client engages with a company, they want to know that they are dealing with a business that will deliver on its promises. They also want to know that somebody will be held accountable if something goes wrong. Nobody trusts a business which, when something isn’t delivered on, plays the blame game. As such, if you want your business to be well-respected and trusted, you need to make sure that you have created a culture of responsibility.
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