Over the past two years I've been seeing teams fail because people are not holding one another accountable. People tell me they are scared of being perceived to blame and so instead they say nothing. I asked some people why they don't hold people accountable. They responded with things like: "I'm really uncomfortable doing that." Or "I'm not good at saying that kind of stuff. I'm just a developer." And I empathize. I really do. I'm uncomfortable holding people accountable too. I'm guessing everyone probably is to some degree. And by the way, I possess those developer genes. That said, I still think these responses are phooey! Being able to communicate is a basic human skill. We all do it, admittedly some better than others, but just because something is difficult doesn't mean we should stop doing it. How will we learn if we don't practice?
Saying nothing rather than speaking up is the worst thing we could do. I see two reasons why. First, everyone has missed a great opportunity to learn something. If something goes wrong, and it does - often - then those accountable are expected to discuss their part in the events, because their knowledge is needed to improve the way we work. And second, restraint leads to pent-up frustration, even anger. Over time, perhaps bickering starts and fissures appear in the team. People start talking about others behind their backs, which really is blaming, and eventually what we've held back for so long probably comes blurting out in a damaging way.
So what's really stopping people holding others accountable? Is it just a misunderstanding of the difference between blame and accountability? This is something I'm struggling with.
To be accountable means to accept responsibility and be answerable for any actions or decisions. However, to be blamed is to be assigned responsibility for a fault in a way that deserves censure. But this still doesn't make it clear for me. I like to think the difference between accountability and blame is in the intent. Think of accountability as a handshake between people whereas blame goes in one direction.
The intention of holding people accountable is to understand, with them, the nature of the failure, its context and how it came to be. Those people questioning the actions value the participation of those responsible for the actions because they have useful information. And together they achieve clarity to explore solutions so that everyone may work to prevent similar failures in the future. The sole intent of blaming people is to identify the culprits and impose punishment. There is unwillingness to engage in a collaborative and objective analysis of the events. Instead judgment has already been passed based on a personal interpretation of events.
I think fearing accountability and staying silent perpetuates the very thing people are seeking to avoid - blame. Holding people accountable is not optional. We need to take it easy and be gentle but we must start holding people accountable. We shouldn't overreact to peoples' reactions. They may feel like they are being blamed based on their past experiences, so we must work extra hard to communicate our intentions as positive and constructive framed within the context of learning. And we must keep at it. Eventually the blame-free culture of accountability we thought we had will emerge for real in a healthier team with a new found honesty and integrity.
PS. I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on this subject and any stories you have to tell. I still seek to understand this notion of accountability better.
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