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Managerial Accountability Is Not Missing; It’s just MISPLACED

By Michelle Malay Carter on October 29, 2008 

Last week I pointed you to an article by Samuel A.?Culbert, Get Rid of the Performance Review.? I thought it was well written, but I’m not in 100% agreement with some of his proposed solutions, particularly around accountability.

Culbert says, “The alternative to one-side-accountable, boss-administered/subordinate-received performance reviews is two-side, reciprocally accountable, performance previews.”

Performance Previews
I often talk about the meta-model, Requisite Organization?as being a total systems model for organizational structure and managerial leadership.? Within that frame of the Requisite model, what Culbert describes as performance previews, I see as the manager’s setting context and providing clear and specific task assignment to include necessary resources to accomplish the task.?

I’m on board with this, when using a Requisite leadership framework, these are clear and specific managerial leadership accountabilities, and these should be the beginning steps in a performance management cycle.

Yes, the employee-manager relationships needs to be a two-way, trusting and productive relationship, but making the manager and employee jointly accountable for employee output is not the way to do it.

Trust and Fairness – Precursors to Employee Engagement
Two precursors to employee engagement are trust and fairness.? If your systems don’t reinforce these to core human values, employees will not engage (give their discretionary effort).? Fear-inducing and unjust environments kill engagement.

Back to Culbert:

Further, Culbert says, “I claim that the boss-direct report team should be held jointly accountable for the quality of work the subordinate performs.”? Emphasis mine.

Joint Accountability – Warning, Warning!
Here is where I disagree.? Whenever we move to joint accountability, it opens the door to buck passing and finger pointing.? When things go well, we want credit.? When things go wrong, we always have a scapegoat.?? It is dangerous to misplace accountability like this.

Employee Accountability
Yes, employees have an accountabilities.? It is to bring their full effort to bear on their assignments, to keep their managers informed on progress, problems,?opportunities and threats,?and to give their manager their best advice.? They can be held accountable for using appropriate judgment.? Beyond that, there is not much else they can do.

Culbert’s Solution isn’t Radical Enough
I’m going the same place as Culbert but getting there a different route.? Culbert is upset by managers who?blame their direct reports for poor performance when the managers play such a critical role in their direct reports’ success.? I agree that this is an outrage.? But I’m going for something more radical and more just than dual accountability for employee output.

Managerial Accountability
Are you ready?? Managers should be held accountable for the output of their team (and in order to be accountable they must be given certain authorities as well in order to induce trust and fairness).?

Why?? The managers create the direct report role, they hire for it, they assign the tasks, they are accountable for seeing their direct reports have the knowledge, skills and experience needed, they supply the resources, the coach and provide feedback, they judge employee effectiveness, and ultimately, they remove employees who are not performing as needed.? Given this, how could it be just or trust-inducing to hold an employee accountable for their output when the manager holds nearly all the influence “levers”.

Managerial Leadership
Managers must make judgments about employee’s effectiveness.? Employee output is a factor but can never be a sole determinant of one’s effectiveness.? Why?? I could meet my output goal but put the company in jeopardy doing so.? Conversely, I could miss my output goal despite heroic effort and sound judgment.? Managers must judge employee effectiveness in light of the prevailing circumstances.? This is the essence of managerial leadership work.

Objectiveness is a Charade
Effectiveness appraisal of direct reports?will never be objective, much to the chagrin of attorneys.? When we try to make it so by attaching number to our judgments, it sets loose all forms of corruption.

This is the hard work of managerial leadership.? Getting to know your team, assigning tasks appropriately, monitoring them, MAKING JUDGMENTS, and providing feedback.? Managers are paid to make the best use of their team toward getting work done.

Looking at Culbert’s reciprocal accountability model which implies an almost equal partnership between manager and employee, I have to ask myself, why would a manager in this arrangement get paid more than the employee??

Change is Necessary
Yes, change is necessary, but Culbert didn’t go far enough.? His best intentions did not net a best practice, and once put into practice, many unintended consequences will erupt.

The American Delusion – Examine Your Core Belief
In America, we have deluded ourselves into thinking we are “king of the world” and that we have much more control and influence over our destiny than we do.? This mentality has spilled over into the workplace.? We proudly and tenaciously believe we are accountable for our output.? Trying to control something over which we have very little control is a fast track to anxiety and all its consequences.

Leadership Gut Check Time
Now, step back and examine that core belief.? Do you think it is fair for you to be held accountable for your output rather than your effectiveness??

On one hand, it might be depressing to admit just how vulnerable we are to our managers’ competence?when it comes to our ability to be effective at work.? On the other hand, it is very liberating to recognize that you might just be a dog chasing its tail.

I’m OK.? You’re OK.? Let’s fix the system.

Your thoughts?

Photo Credit:? Jeremiah Owyang

Filed Under Accountability, Corporate Values, Employee Engagement, Executive Leadership, Managerial Leadership, Requisite Organization, Talent Management

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