The Hammer and Nail of Leadership: Accountability and Values
The social unrest that is happening in America today is a stark lesson for anyone in a leadership position of what happens when accountability fails. Let me explain, first with what is happening in society-at-large and then how it applies to you as leader of an organization.
The black community has been subject to repeated police violence with little to no consequence for officers who commit misconduct. How can this continue to happen in a democracy whose highest values are equality and liberty?
The answer is simple, because police officers know they can get away with it. But it has less to do with the individual cops and more about a systemic failure of accountability.
When accountability fails
Systems of accountability let people know values are real versus just words. When values are not honored and when accountability systems are unfairly administered the underlying message is that the values are hollow. When a group faces unequal treatment and their attempts to correct this inequity go unheeded, faith in leadership erodes. The protests we are seeing are an outgrowth of this. And when these protests are met with rubber bullets and tear gas while armed white protestors are told they have a right to protest, this further erodes faith that the system is fair.
It starts at the top
People in positions of authority are responsible for ensuring that systems of accountability will uphold and affirm values equally. Police violence against black Americans is a failure of those in leadership positions, from the federal government, local authorities, to police leadership.
The Supreme Court doctrine of qualified immunity, police unions which resist accountability, local and state leaders beholden to these unions, and poor police leadership have allowed police misconduct to go unpunished. Having worked at the NYPD for three years, I saw first hand that police officers follow orders from their superiors. If they misbehave it is because they are being allowed to, and they know nothing will happen to them if they do.
The hammer and nail of leadership
Accountability and values are two of the most powerful tools in the leader’s toolbox. Values are the expectations for how everyone should behave. They hold things together (the nails). Accountability is what re-affirms those values when someone deviates (the hammer). If you lead an organization and fail to apply accountability or do so unevenly you’ll have employees that take advantage and consistently act against your values because they know they can while others will be apathetic or afraid to speak out because they know nothing will happen. Psychological safety, a key condition for high performing teams, will be sorely missing and so too will be the high performance results.
Actions speak louder than words
Organizations should have values that are inspiring and everyone can feel good about. But this is not enough. They have to be real. It is all too common that organizational values are not upheld and become just words on a website. Let’s take a look at some common examples.
A company says they “value diversity” but the overwhelming majority of their board and staff are white males. So they really do not value diversity.
A manager makes a sexual advance at a direct report. It is reported and nothing of substance happens to the manager. (See the Uber example)
A company has a value of “Team First”. Yet, its bonus structure is set up to reward individual performance. So really the value is “everyone for themselves”.
An employee who regularly misses team meetings and often takes individual credit for team accomplishments is promoted above an employee who often takes time to help and elevate others. Again, the actual value here is individual accomplishment.
Three questions for leaders
I recommend that you take these lessons from the events of the past month, look at your own organization and address the following questions:
Does your organization have a clear set of expectations for behavior (codified as values, virtues, ethics, etc.)?
Are your policies and norms aligned with these expectations?
When someone transgresses is there clear accountability that lets everyone know that the expectation is real, and is it equally applied to everyone?
If the answer to ANY of these is no, when your values are not upheld and accountability lacks or is unfair, be prepared for low morale, conflict, turnover, and a toxic culture.
Or instead you can use the hammer and nail of leadership by championing your values, ensuring fair accountability, and leading an organization that everyone can believe in.
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