Ladder of Accountability

[Esmeralda Garcia]

Basically, we can approach life in 2 ways: choosing to be accountable for what happens, or choose to
abdicate responsibility for the circumstances and their resolution.
 
Where do you stand for?

The Ladder of Accountability by Rodger Dean Duncan, is a great coaching model to see where you/
your team stand for.

More choices and possibilities are available as one moves up the ladder- those choices, tend to
decrease anxiety and lead to greater results and enhanced relationships.

The greater percentage of people in an organization who choose stances in the top portion of the
Ladder of Accountability, the greater the chance the organization has of being successful in attaining
goals and a higher level of collaboration. 

The bottom four rungs (below the red line) includes more reactive behaviors, a victim mentality and a
greater sense of helplessness.

The Accountability Audit: Eight levels of Accountability

The Accountability Ladder has 8 levels. The higher you are on it, the more accountable (and
productive) you are.

No accountability. At the lowest rung on the ladder, people are simply “Unaware” or
“Unconscious”. They don’t even know there’s a situation that needs attention.

“Blame Others” level– they complain instead of accepting accountability -we see a lot finger
pointing. When something goes wrong, people at this level censure fast their colleagues or
circumstance, play the victim, finding someone or something as the cause for all their failures.

“Personal Excuses” and “I Can’t” levels. People talk themselves into believing, for a range of imaginative reasons, that they are simply unable to accomplish the task/mission. It’s not their fault. They really believe they are controlled by circumstances. They deliver excuses rather than results: “ I would have been successful if I had more time, or had the proper training to do the job”. The outcomes of this mindset are procrastination, lack of focus, or low productivity.

Next level is the “Wait and Hope”. Although waiting and hoping are better than blaming and
making excuses, is still a mindset that places the obligation for results on someone else. Leaders who don’t communicate
effectively their expectations, find themselves here. Employees can’t be accountable if they don’t know what is expected of
them. Entrepreneurs won’t be successful if they have a passion, but no plan and no target.

The next four levels “Above the Line” are more proactive and empowered positions.

Accountability starts at the “Acknowledge Reality” level. People see the situation and accept for
what it is. They have the certainty that something needs to be changed.
 
Business people at this level recognise the magnitude and challenge of the workload and the specific tasks required for success. They accept ownership and responsibility, with courage, commitment, and determination to succeed. People who psychologically “own” a problem are much more likely to solve it than people who merely acknowledge that a problem exists.

If the motivation is not strong enough, it’s easy for people to fall back down the ladder and cover their
lack of ownership with excuses, blame, and complaints.

At “Embrace It!” level, people admit their own role in the problem and accept ownership of the
situation.

At the “Find a Solution” level, people commit to results finding solutions. Most good employees and executives perform at this level of accountability. They admit to owning the situation and pride themselves on their professional abilities. They look for solutions even if conflicts or challenges arise.

And the highest level is the “Make It Happen!/just do it!” level. Employees who come up with new
approaches to delight customers, achieve goals, and develop innovative new products for markets.
They do what it takes to get the job done.Talk about results and get results. They know that things
happen because of them, not to them.

How do you move it in a positive direction helping people to become more accountable?

Often, “Accountability” is among the top two or three concerns of senior executives.

It doesn’t matter how good the vision is, or the strategy to deliver that vision – if you don’t have a culture of accountability.

Start with open and honest conversation about mutual purpose and mutual expectations. As Stephen Covey said, “ accountability breeds response-ability”.

The Accountability Ladder is a simple but powerful tool you can use to drive insights, awareness and action. It allows you to asses your current stance (and your team members in a coaching situation)- helping them to be successful and climb the ladder.

Accountability starts at the top. The state of accountability is a reflection of the leadership culture and is directly related to the level of accountability that leaders display. For this reason, before you start assessing accountability in others, take an honest look at yourself in the mirror : “Are you accountable to be accountable?”

Apply the descriptions of the various levels to your own behavior in a given situation. Once you know where you currently are on the ladder and make a conscious choice about where will you like to move to.

Where are you on this ladder?
Why do you would choose one level over another ?
What do you need to do differently if you want to take a stance on a different rung of the ladder of
accountability?

Are you below the line?

You feel you don’t have any control over the current circumstances

• You blame others and the context you are in
• You focus more on what you cannot do rather than on what you can do
• Others come to you to complain about all of the “terrible things” that are going on
• You feel you are being treated unfairly and you don’t think you can do anything about it
• You are defensive in your communication with others
• You focus on all of the reasons something can’t be done

How to recognise victim behaviours in others (below the line)?

People believe that things happen to them and might make excuses similar to the following:

“That’s the way we’ve always done it.”
“It’s not my job.”
“I didn’t know you needed it right away.”
“It’s not my fault.”
“That’s not my department.”
“No one told me what to do.”
“I’m waiting for approval.”
“I don’t know.”
“I forgot.”
“I’m too busy to do it.”
“No one invited me to the meeting.”
“Nobody’s followed up with me, it can’t be that important.”

The ability to understand and help individuals understand why the live “Below the Line” can reduce
stress, can help them move to a position that may be healthier and happier in the long run.

How do we get others or ourselves above the line: Moving Up the Ladder?

• What is in your control zone?
• What are your strengths?
• What do you enjoy?
• Where do you stand for? Where would you like to be?

These questions focus on the land of possibilities and new perspectives. They can open up
discussion and help choose a new point of view and intention.

There are 5 useful leadership skills when coaching others above the line:

• Active listening
• Acknowledge what is being said, current challenges and reframe
• Powerful questions from a curious perspective to shift them from victim mode to action. “Given your current situation, what else can you do to move forward?” “What else can be done?”
• Provide feedback on how to move forward
• Offer the support they need to move ahead

If you and your team are above the line, celebrate and acknowledge them!

Accountability means responsible behavior. Means ownership. And it is fully required at every single
organizational level.

Effective leaders at all levels understand the importance of two-way accountability and act
accordingly.

[Dianne Flemington]

Thanks for posting this Esmeralda. I am curious how you would work through this exercise in a remote team setting?

[Author]

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