Page 303 - 4- Leading_from_Within

Empowerment may be misunderstood, but accountability is sometimes
considered the thing that holds leaders back. Without accountability
within the organization, the top executive ends up being the only one held
accountable. People generally want to be accountable, but they want it to

be fair and parallel to empowerment.

Like the empowerment stream, accountability also flows through an
organization from top to bottom. A board defines what it wants the top
management to achieve; subsequently management works with its staff to
develop goals and measurable outcomes. Giuliani in his book entitled
Leadership states that nothing builds a stronger case for holding employees
to a high standard than a leader who holds himself to even higher
standards. 334

The tools of empowerment are similar to those for accountability, which

are goal setting, performance monitoring, and allowing for creativity
within the confines of policy. In reality, you can’t have empowerment
without accountability. Responsibility and authority go hand in hand. If a
team or organization has full responsibility then it has to have full
authority. Micromanaging will destroy empowerment.

When people believe that they are accountable, they take more ownership
for their results; when they feel that they are at the mercy of leaders, they

tend to blame things outside themselves for their results. For that reason,
accountability is the key to effective empowerment, which is all about
getting the results you want while working toward the results the
organization needs and wants.

In order to hold someone accountable certain conditions have to be met,
including:

• Understanding and agreeing on expectations
• Training to do the job
• Follow up and assessment of performance

• Ongoing feedback and consequences

334 Rudolph W. Guiliani, Leadership, New York: Miramax Books, 2002, p. 70.

David Kolzow 303