If Jesus Built Your Accountability Culture
This article was written by Jim Miley and published by Crossroads Professional Coaching.
Many business leaders aspire to developing a culture of accountability in their organization. You will see “accountability” listed amongst the organizational values and the behavioral standards of performance management systems nearly anywhere you look.
What does it mean to have an accountability culture? Is accountability something new, a recent invention? Does accountability mean something different now than it did 20, 50 or 2000 years ago?
How did the historical titans of business make it without the fashionable buzz words of the 21st century business best-sellers? Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller, Steve Jobs, Warren Buffet, Walt Disney; those are some heavy hitters in business history. Each of these business leaders had their own approach and management philosophy that led to incredible success.
Delving into any one management style of Western industry’s greatest business leaders is beyond the scope of this post but the list serves to illustrate that there are numerous and diverse paths to success.
The subject of building accountability into a business culture comes up often while coaching business owners and managers. As a faith-based business owner myself, I felt the urge to look at accountability from the perspective of the Christian Faith.
What Is Accountability
According to Webster’s Dictionary accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.
In contemporary social and business management writings, the common meaning of accountability has expanded to “hold people accountable.” Accountability culture seems to demand that there is more to accountability than individuals accepting responsibility. Best-selling business thought leaders suggest each of us needs to hold one another accountable.
Contemporary discussion of accountability and accountability culture also seems to have a dark tone as though the majority of actions demanding a person be held accountable are negative actions.
It’s this expansion of the modern application of accountability, “holding people accountable,” that makes me wonder if there is something new with accountability culture. Is the new part overcomplicating a timeless concept and actually causing some unintended consequence?
Accountability is Not Vengeance or Justice
I’ve noticed that people often co-mingle accountability with justice. For example, if someone does something we deem unfair, under the banner of accountability it is common hear they need to be held accountable by suffering some consequence. In fact, observers of a seemingly unfair action will also judge whether the consequence meets the perceived level of required severity to get things back to equilibrium.
Accountability by the Webster’s definition is accepting responsibility for our own actions. Holding someone accountable doesn’t really extend to administering punitive damages; at least according to common dictionary definitions. But modern cultural pressures like social justice advocacy have introduced principles that look a lot like vengeance or justice on an acceptable timeline as being required for some to feel accountability exists.
This kind of makes sense when we consider the definition of “justice” according to Webster: “… the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.” Simply reading the definition echoes of a trial in a court of law.
As accountability does not really include vengeance or justice, should we feel the need for the consequences of accountability to meet our individual standard for acceptable payback? Can there be a culture of accountability if our individual need for justice is not adequately met when we feel it should be? I surely hope so as we can all be pretty vindictive depending upon circumstances and how close to home it gets.
Accountability Without Consequence?
Don’t misunderstand my comments on consequences and justice. I’m not suggesting accountability is not associated with consequences. I am saying that accountability is distinct from the consequences.
There are always consequences to our actions. Just as accountability is distinct from consequences, consequences are distinct from justice or vengeance.
The major point here: rather than letting justice or vengeance drive the consequences of accountability, let the natural and proper course of business decisions drive consequential actions. Said another way, accountability culture can simply mean that the business considers everyone’s actions when it makes decisions.
Do you see the distinction between natural consequences and seeking justice as a form of holding people accountable?
Accountability: if a given employee acts in a negative way such that we feel they should be held accountable, the business considers that behavior in how it acts. Severity of infractions from low to high will result in progressively more consequential results; corrective conversations with a manager, loss of future opportunities, removal of some current responsibility, demotion, termination.
Justice: if a given employee acts in a negative way, the business must make adjustments of conflicting claims for that action? Justice pushes the immediacy of impartial consequences for each claim between two parties. Justice is great as the bedrock of our legal system. But I don’t believe in running a business like a courtroom where literally every meeting includes two parties with opposing claims against each other. Time between meetings is spent researching, investigating and building your case against the opposing parties. What a pleasant place to work.
What about being held accountable for positive actions? I don’t want to get too far off into the weeds on why accountability culture discussions so rarely focus on rewards for good behavior but they should. Refer back to the Webster’s definition for accountability. If you want to nurture an accountability culture, you should make sure the business considers and acts according to positive behaviors equally or more so than it does for negative actions.
How do you hold people accountable for positive actions? Benefits of positive actions from low to high should result in progressively more consequential results just as you would have for negative actions, only positive; an “atta boy” from a manager, formal recognition in front of peers, increased consideration for future opportunities, a raise or bonus, promotion.
An important take away is that either positive or negative consequences of accountability may not be so transactional as to match directly to every action. Time will often pass between a given action and the consequence, positive or negative. And yes, I recognize this can be counter-cultural to the world around us and Gen Z expectations.
For a Christian business owner, it should be important that accountability not be a synonym with consequence or justice. The fact that this is counter-cultural might motivate some of us to dig even deeper into the concept.
Accountability According to Jesus
“To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back.”
– Luke 6:29-30
By contemporary expectations, Jesus teaches us a radical view of accountability. Amongst the Beatitudes or blessings, Jesus directs us to focus on the big picture, love and salvation. He starts with “the blessings” but goes on to covers both sides of the equation by instructing us to not fight over the small stuff such as someone striking you on the cheek, taking your cloak or petty theft.
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you…”.
– Luke 6:37-38
It can be challenging to apply Christian teachings to the workplace but the Gospel teaches us not to be double-minded or lead dual lives; a faith life in contradiction to our work life. You are of one heart in Christ so as challenging as it is to live out your Faith in business, we are to live that way.
I don’t believe the scripture verses quoted here are a lesson to roll over and be abused or lack accountability. Read them carefully.
One includes instruction to avoid acting with the intent of seeking justice from an offender. The other a reminder that we are not to judge one another. How do you avoid acting out of a quest for justice and avoid judging others when they have acted in a way that seems harmful?
Move on and let them be accountable for their actions. You have a business to run.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves…”
– Matthew 10:16
We are instructed to be wise and shrewd in our business. We are also instructed to be innocent. If you let justice or judgement become a part of your everyday business culture, you will struggle with innocence as you are entering a realm of eye for an eye and that is God’s domain. Justice is from the Lord. Judgement is from the Lord.
You have a business to run. Be wise and make good decisions for your business and its’ employees whom you serve as their leader. Decisions have consequences; some positive and some arguably negative. Your decisions over time should of course consider the actions or behaviors of your employees; both positive and negative. More extreme behaviors will dictate quicker or more drastic decisions on your part as the natural requirements to keep the ship on course.
Leading your team to avoid seeking their own perception of justice or judgment of peer behavior promotes unity in a culture. You have to earn their trust by making sound decisions and helping them to do the same.
If you and any managers working for you all acted in accordance with sound Biblical teaching, would that not represent an accountability culture? I believe it would and you avoid the negative trappings of your workplace resembling a small claims court of law; always litigating grievances between plaintiffs. Lead your employees to focus on making good decisions and accepting consequences both good and bad. Avoid seeking justice and avoid judgement.
I cringe a little every time I hear the phrase “accountability culture.” If Jesus built your accountability culture, He would guide you to trust in His 2000 year old best seller. Your accountability culture will be one of love, patience, kindness, gentleness and really good business decisions. That’s a proven and sustainable model.