#36 - Accountable or Responsible?
6 Nov 24
There are times when leaders are in the unenviable position of being placed in a court room to justify their actions and decisions when something has gone badly wrong.
In many cases, they may be completely unaware that they were in fact accountable for a specific set of responsibilities, perhaps which were not discharged on your behalf.
Being accountable and responsible are two separate things.
Ultimately responsibility may be delegated whereas accountability cannot.
Knowing what you are accountable for provides a layer of transparency and understanding which will therefore drive you to apply an appropriate level of assurance activity into your operations.
Make sure you know the difference; don't leave it until you are in the dock trying to explain what went wrong!
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#36 - Accountable or Responsible?
What?
Do you know what you are accountable and/or responsible for?
Are you even 100% sure you know what the difference is between the two?
The reason I ask is that many leaders do not and at first glance it can appear quite confusing. Understanding the difference between the two is vitally important as the roles a leader performs become more senior and necessarily more complex.
So what is the difference between the two?
Responsibility...
'...involves managing tasks.'
That is, tasks which have been assigned to an individual by a line manager and for which a progress update should ordinarily be reported back to them.
Whereas Accountability...
'...focuses on the consequences and ownership of actions, typically involving a single individual.'
So what does this actually mean?
A good analogy could be the following:
Imagine your friend has a dog. They love their dog more than life itself. But soon, they are due to go away on holiday and so need someone to look after it while they are away.
They ask you to look after their beloved dog. You agree and so have been appointed as the trusted person to fulfil this important task, which includes feeding it and of course walking it, and making sure no harm comes to the dog.
However, what if, say, two days after your friend departs on holiday that your work requires you to go on a business trip for a few days. This means that you are unable to look after the dog yourself.
So you decide to delegate this responsibility to your son/daughter whilst you are away.
The nuance here is that, if something happens whilst you are away, even though your child has been fulfilling this responsibility on your behalf, you still remain accountable to your friend for the well-being of their dog.
The fact that you have delegated this responsibility to your child means nothing. You remain accountable to your friend. Ultimately if the dog dies, runs away etc your friend will come looking for you!
So responsibility can be delegated, but accountability cannot.
Why?
Why is this important?
In a work environment, particularly one which is safety-critical in nature or in terms of the environment, this matters a lot from a legislatory perspective if something goes wrong.
Knowing exactly who is accountable and responsible for what drives a safety culture and accountability chain. This means that leaders take more ownership and apply more oversight to ensure that appropriate assurance activity takes place.
This in turn means that the work environment becomes inherently safer, since everyone knows who is accountable for what and that clear demarcation lines exist.
In a nutshell, it drives transparency and personal behaviours from the top to the bottom from CEO downwards.
How?
So, the most effective way to put an accountability structure in place is to agree accountabilities from the CEO to key members of the senior leadership team.
This is done in the form of 'Letters of Responsibility'. These letters outline exactly what the senior leader is accountable for. The letter must be acknowledged by the recipient so that they are aware of their accountabilities. Once they agree (and sign to that effect), they are therefore known as the 'Accountable Manager'.
The Accountable Manager, if they so wish, may then delegate specific responsibilities associated with key roles to those who are subordinate to them. Of course there may be multiple subordinates.
This is done through specific 'Letters of Delegation'. Again, a formal letter is produced outlining exactly what the scope of the delegated responsibilities are. As before, the letter must be acknowledged by the recipient by signature.
Letters are then logged and reviewed annually. If someone leaves a role, the letter is rescinded and a new one issued to the new incumbent.
This process protects both the Company and the individuals in the flowdown of responsibilities, particularly if it all goes horribly wrong!
In Summary
I hope that you enjoyed reading this newsletter and that it has given you food for thought.
Understanding the difference between accountability and responsibility is a key part of being an effective leader.
Knowing the boundaries of what you are 'on the hook for' is hugely important, and understanding the risks you hold equally so.
Have a great week!
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