Recently, I was talking with a coaching client who is looking to make a career change. He noted that one of the most frustrating aspects of his current role is that he is often in the position of having to answer to clients when the work they paid for is not completed on time or according to expectations, even though he has no control over that aspect of the business. Further, he often has a hard time getting clear answers from those responsible as to why the work has not been done. We identified this phenomenon as "accountability without authority" and determined that it will be important for him to suss out the potential for this in future job opportunities and seek to avoid it.
Since that conversation, I've been thinking about the topic a lot and how it shows up in organizations, sometimes due to a lack of efficient communication and/or design and other times for reasons beyond the control of the organization. For example, I heard a news story the other day about how Southwest Airlines has been hit particularly hard by the grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX planes because they are heavily reliant on this aircraft. While Southwest had no control over the decision to ground the planes or the design flaw that led to it, airline employees have found themselves in the position of having to respond to customers whose travel plans have been upended as a result of the grounding. Couple this with Southwest's well-known commitment to excellent customer service and the challenge faced by the company and its employees in navigating this difficult situation is apparent.
I was still thinking about this when I arrived in Providence, RI recently to meet with a client on the same day that a scathing report was released by Johns Hopkins' Institute for Education Policy about the condition of Providence Schools. Among other findings, the report noted that both teachers and school leaders felt frustrated and demoralized by a lack of input into decision-making regarding the management of schools and classrooms. Many principals and other school leaders described being "held accountable for results that they have neither resources nor authority to influence." Hearing this, it was not hard to imagine the stress of being required to answer regularly to stakeholders (including students) about results largely outside of one's control. Dealing with this situation on a daily basis could certainly drive someone to look for an escape route in the form of a new job, as it had for my client.
While it's easy to recognize the folly of requiring accountability without authority, organizations and supervisors often do just that, sometimes through the use of overly prescriptive and/or outdated systems of operation and often simply through a failure to recognize and appreciate the downstream impacts of decisions. As a supervisor, I sometimes failed to complete tasks on time due to competing priorities, not fully recognizing that by not completing my assigned task, I was causing disruptions to the larger work plan and the timely completion of client products, potentially jeopardizing the client relationship and causing unnecessary frustration for my colleagues. Looking back, I cringe at those occurrences but at the time I didn't fully appreciate their implications.
So what can organizations do to try and avoid the pitfalls of accountability without authority? Here are a few straightforward suggestions:
Identify and articulate organizational interdependencies so that all team members understand how their work intersects with that of others.
Set clear expectations for employee performance and address any shortcomings in a timely, respectful and unambiguous manner.
Establish and reinforce clear channels of communication within the organization and encourage open and transparent dialogue, especially around sensitive topics.
Considering the significant investment that any organization makes in its employees, giving them the information, resources AND authority to help them thrive is good business. Employees are more likely to feel engaged and empowered, and both the customer experience and the bottom line are likely to benefit.
