People Wednesdays >>> Demystifying Accountability

Accountability. A word that is often thrown around at many levels of management, is one that is both overused and misused.

Etymologically, the word is derived from the Latin accomptare (to account) which in turn is derived from computare (to calculate), which in turn stems from putare (to reckon). Based on these, one can understand that the word accountability relates to the measurement and answerability pertaining to an individual's state of affairs.

But what does accountability look like when considering an employee's state of mind? Peter Drucker, a renowned management consultant suggested that an important question employees must ask themselves is not "What can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute?".

Accoutability must be seen as a dichotomy betwen two words - "account" and "ability". Metrics and KPIs must not be seen as the sole measurement of accountability as it eats away at an employees' motivation. Leader's must pay equal attnetion to this state of mind offering a way to strengthen an employees' abilities instead of just through KPIs.

Published 14th July 2021 | 8:15 pm