Deeper Dive #1: Accountability: How to Create a Culture of Accountability
New series from Dwight Mihalicz – designed for management consultants
As consultants, we don’t have much authority within our client’s organization; we only have the authority that our clients give us. This limited power constrains us from directly implementing our recommendations by its very nature – we are external to the organization.
But what about within the organization? Does your client understand how accountability works in the organization? How can we as consultants help clients understand the nature of accountability? Even more so, how do we help our clients create a culture of accountability?
Accountability matters. Intuitively we know that when people are held to account performance is better. But what is accountability? How does an organization “become” accountable?
Effective delegation should ensure a single point of accountability, as low as possible in the organization. Single points of accountability keep organizations effective and efficient. The lowest point of accountability keeps decision-making as close to the front line as possible to keep the organization nimble.
The greatest challenge to establishing a single point of accountability is the complexity of today’s organizations – almost everyone relies on others for success in their work. And if an individual can’t be successful because a colleague let them down, the result is either conflict in the workplace, or the individual finds it easier to do the work themselves – the employees begin to build silos.
The Effective Point of Accountability®, developed by Effective Managers™, provides a model for solving both problems. This approach helps organizations ensure that work is delegated to the right person in the right position, and to ensure that managers in different parts of the organization have a common understanding of their work relationships with each other.
§ Participants will be able to identify organizational issues that result from a lack of accountability.
§ Participants will be able to help CEOs and executives understand the importance of an accountability model and how it can be implemented.
Pre-Work
§ Read the white paper, The Effective Point of Accountability® (received with your registration)
§ Share at least one example in a client organization where a CEO or senior executive cited “lack of accountability” as the cause of a major issue.
§ Document your work in the workbook (received with your registration) and share your insights with your colleagues and the instructor in an online discussion group.
Post-Work
§ List key insights and understandings that you gained from this session about understanding and/or assessing accountability issues in your clients’ organizations
§ Think about your current clients. How can you use the concept of accountability in your practice to help improve the client implementation of your recommendations?
§ Make notes in your workbook, or online to share your insights with your colleagues and the instructor.
The instructor is committed to responding to the online questions and commenting on observations for your benefit.
Audience
· Experienced consultants who want to learn new ways of using existing skills sets to provide more value to clients
· All consultants who want to reinforce their trusted-advisor status with clients by showing how existing skills can be applied to diagnose root-cause issues in more effective ways
· Early career consultants who want an overview of the key elements of organizational performance or want to strengthen their previous experience in management in their consulting career
RECORDING – Participate in the master-class level seminar at your convenience
(Product has downloadable attachment with link to the recorded webinar)
Message from Dwight:
Fellow Consultants – this is an opportunity to learn from a master class series of organization performance seminar-style webinars. Click above for registration and immediate access.
