PSM #33: Accountability

This podcast, "Accountability", derives a lesson on trust from Wall Street. PSM_#33_Accountability.mp3 Listen on Posterous There are several lessons to be learned from the recent issues in the financial markets. One lesson that comes to mind deals with accountability. Recall from an earlier podcast that I mentioned successful accomplishment of an objective requires three things: responsibility –the ability to respond, authority, and accountability. Often we find ourselves where we may be held accountable but not have either the responsibility or the authority to perform. But such is not the case with recent Wall Street. Too many in power had the responsibility and the authority but not the accountability for their actions. They took actions that made them millions of dollars and, even though those actions failed, they were not held accountable. It seems that the boards of directors did not hold them accountable. And I think most significantly, they did not hold themselves accountable. It seems to me that what one stands for, one’s character, one’s core self, is defined by what one is accountable for. I think one has to be accountable to self to define one’s self and one’s worth. So in our practice of management we must ensure that we have the responsibility and the authority to accomplish our objectives, and we must be accountable to ourselves certainly, and to our stakeholders. Permalink | Leave a comment »