Accountability - The Missing Ingredient In Most Management Systems By Carmen Daecher

When I was a young boy, my father told me that he hated someone lying to him more than anything else. Throughout my preteen and teen years, when I was caught lying, his response was swift, severe, and most of all, consistent. I knew that lying was wrong; he held me accountable for my actions.

Ours is a society which is built upon laws. Being held accountable if we break one of them is the hallmark of its success.

Accountability is a fundamental means of modifying behavior. Whether it is because of fear, or more hopefully, because of fully embracing our responsibility for our actions, it helps one understand consequences for behavior and hopefully helps one modify behavior to avoid any negative consequences.

All of us accept responsibility. It is a word that is used so often that it sometimes loses its clear meaning. As we grow up, we are taught that we are responsible for our actions. We are told what is right and what is wrong. We are taught principles of how to interact with others and accept our responsibilities. But if we do not understand the consequences associated with unacceptable behavior and the rewards associated with acceptable behavior, we do not understand accountability.

Many bus companies have trouble with defining and administering accountability. It is clearly the "soft spot" which causes most of the problems associated with poor performance, rising accident frequencies, higher driver turnovers, and other such ills.

There is a fear that, in holding people accountable to a standard, they will leave, or will become disenfranchised, or will not be motivated; in short, holding people accountable will not work. Nothing can be farther from the truth or more irrational.

We, as human beings, understand accountability far more clearly than responsibility. If everyone is held accountable to the same standard in a consistent way, then everyone, as individuals, will expect to be judged upon their actions and will become more focused on their responsibilities associated with their actions. Accountability helps the vast majority of individuals think and respond. For those who don't think that way, they are the people that you do not need in your organization.

Back to my family days - it took me quite a few years to learn that rather than trying to decide whether I should lie or not to my father, especially given what I knew would be the consequences if caught, that I should not do things that cause me to make that choice. That is what his consistent application of accountability finally helped me realize.

Your drivers will, hopefully more quickly than me, realize that standards which you define for their behavior have no compromise. That every time their behavior is not acceptable, there will be consequences. That frequent failures in behavior will result in the loss of their job and possibly their career. And, equally as important, consistently good behavior will be applauded, celebrated, and recognized as the result of one who consistently performs well for all of the right reasons.

But this accountability standard should not end with individuals. There has to be a standard of accountability for management as well. Everyone in an organization must be held accountable for their actions and performance. Too often, I see managers becoming lazy or defining policies to fit their needs. This should not be accepted. There is no reason to view performance of management any differently than drivers. Everyone must be held accountable.

The beauty of organizational responsibility is that everyone - management and drivers alike - can be focused on behavior and results with a consistency that drives success. To think that safety can not be managed that way is irrational. Rather, the only way to successfully manage safety performance is with organizational accountability.

So how do you do this in your organization? From where I'm sitting, here are some steps to take:

• Establish a policy that clearly defines standards of behavior, methods of measurement, consequences for unacceptable behavior, and means of celebrating or rewarding good behavior.
• Include in the policy training as a fundamental component to provide knowledge to drivers and to continue to provide them with knowledge for achieving the level of performance and behavior that you expect.
• Define a system of progressive discipline which treats unacceptable behavior in a progressively severe way, but which always includes training as a remedial component.
• Apply the policy consistently. Who customers like; how long a person has been in the company; and other such variables should have no influence on holding people accountable for unacceptable behavior.
• Whenever behavior for any individual falls below your accepted standard, ask yourself how the organization may have contributed to that person's poor performance. Answering that question is equally as important as addressing the individual's unacceptable behavior.
• Make sure its working. Make sure that the managers accountable for administering the policy are doing so properly, otherwise, hold them accountable as well.

Accountability throughout your organization will help your employees learn what my dad taught me: do things right, enjoy the rewards, don't dwell on negative consequences.

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