Tag Archives: Accountability

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Governance – an exploration

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Very generally,  governance refers to undertaking processes and practices by which others actions/activities are controlled and directed.

In effect these processes and practices start with guidelines, laws and rules  and end with enforcement to ensure they are adhered to.  For example, speed limits are a law most of us are familiar with.

This law is a governance practice intended to reduce the risk of accidents (or it represents a government money grab) . Speed cameras are one enforcement practice associated with this law.  Fines are another.

Governance, Yuk

A typical reaction to governance is distaste.  Like most things though  governance has associated pro’s and con’s.  Low levels of governance  usually result in:

  • faster completion
  • greater flexibility/ innovation
  • simpler solutions
  • lower quality
  • greater risk of error
  • inconsistency across repeated activities

Clearly high quality, consistentency and low risk are better attributes than the opposite listed above.  Yet higher governance is usually less flexible, slower and lacking creativity.

What to do?

Both approaches to governance (a lot and a little) have pro’s and con’s generally exactly the opposite.  The best way to achieve the highest results (best of both worlds) is “surprise,surprise” through a balanced approach.

Too much or too little governance is not a one size fits all balance.  It is very contextual.  For example, as an investor you probably desire strong governance to be in place around your investment.

The intent is to risk your reduce of loss.  However if the regulations are too onerous the investment can be strangled by them.  You might not lose but you might not gain either.

An example of this is Trumps approach to reducing regulations put in place during the last financial crisis.

In his view the risks mitigated by these outdated regulations have subsided in the current economy and the regulations are holding back economic and job growth.

I am not sure I agree with his assessment but the principle of balancing governance practices to get the best result really does resonate with me.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Checks and Balances

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The law of supply and demand can act as a key behaviour control.  Action and reaction can also serve this purpose.  These two practices can be used as tools to effect change.

It’s So Unfair

I had a conversation the other day about people being mistreated.  Things like unrealistic job performance demands, little sympathy for hardship, or taking a hard line on working hours or working conditions.

Clearly wrong or harsh behaviour cannot always be corrected or resolved through a reaction or by managing supply or demand.  However, these approaches can influence change and do provide the opportunity to drive outcomes.

Whether successful or not, at least you tried.  Taking action is far more likely to achieve a result than just hoping the “luck of the Irish will prevail”.  That is, if you take no action you should expect no result.

(Side note, luck of the Irish refers to winning or succeeding at something for no apparent reason.  Like finding gold when others cannot or winning at gambling).

For Example

An obvious example of using the law of supply and demand to affect behaviour change is trade sanctions (limiting supply). In this case one group of countries might apply a trade blockade to another country to influence them to change their behaviour (e.g., stop developing nuclear arms)

At a more granular level, if an employer cuts your wage, you could just accept it but alternately you could refuse to accept the insult and provide supporting evidence of your value, (measurable evidence) and outline the impacts of losing you as a valuable resource versus some short term monetary savings.  The ability to react and how you react is up to you.

Give it a try

Next time you see unjust behaviour, try to effect a change.  What can you lose, beyond the time and effort to try.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Making Mistakes

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When your action or judgment is misguided or wrong we call that a mistake.  Regardless of the magnitude or visibility, acting or deciding wrongly is a mistake.

Of course, the outcomes and consequences of the mistake might not be in accordance with the type or level of the error.  That is to say a small error could have serious consequences.

And the Oscar goes to……..

Last Sunday was an obvious case where a small slip has disasterous results.  A accountant who works for PWC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) gave the wrong envelope to Warren Beatty on Sunday.

This minor slip resulted in the wrong movie being given the best picture Oscar for a brief two and a half minutes.  More than long enough to create a massive, even monumental fuss.

Fate Intervenes

Warren got the wrong envelope with the wrong contents and under usual circumstances, you would expect he would recognize the winners card was incorrect and stop the train before the crash.

To be fair, Mr. Beatty is 79 and was slowly working through his mind  the puzzle of the strange winners card .  Faye Dunaway, his co star in the 1968 Oscar Best Picture nominated movie “Bonnie and Clyde” , was the co-presenter.

Unfortunately, the relationship between Faye and Warren was a little acromonious.  In particular she is known to have little patience with his slow considered approach.

So Faye, loosing patience with Warrens slow progress, snapped the card from Warren , glanced at it, and read the wrong winner.  And so the error that began with the wrong envelope was exposed.

Fortunately!

In this case the impact is large but certainly not irrepairable, after all  the winning movie was recognized.

I am a little sad for the PWC accountant who will probably bear the brunt of consequences  but really to some extent was only a victim of circumstance.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Adversarial Conduct

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Adversarial discussions are characterized by conflict or opposition and lurking  beneath the covers, probably some hostility.  Too often, these conversations stem from assumptions of intention.

It may start with some innocent questions for clarification.  The other stakeholder assumes you are against what they are trying to achieve and the adversarial dance begins.

Sadly!

A simple misinterpretation of intentions can derail a potential productive interaction which should have gold at the end of the rainbow.  Even clarifying intentions often won’t put it back on track.

Sadly this type of behavior occurs regularly in most organizations.  It is of course exacerbated by cultural bias, but it is not unusual to see the dance occur, regardless of culture.

To my amusement, often I observe  those who are actually in violent agreement (based on what they are saying) but appear to be just the opposite (i.e., violent disagreement).

Just Listen

The root cause of this type of adversarial discussions lies with  misunderstood intentions.  These stem from listening skills.  That is not just hearing the words but rather the message.

For me as I watch the head butting, or even when I am the object of head butting it never ceases to amaze how agreement is manipulated into disagreement.

Don’t Get Hooked

The way out of these situations is to ensure you are not “hooked” by the others.  That is often the intention of the other party.  They believe if they can just get the hook firmly embedded in your throat they can hall you in.

Unfortunately the result is usually dissatisfaction to all which is of course really unfortunate since the whole situation was actually on the brink of a great collaboration.

Ah, to behave like a human – we are just animals after all.

 

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

What would you Do?

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Yesterdays post was about two key measures used to identify leaders.  Intellectual skills and behaviour skills.  These two measures have been labled EQ and IQ.

In essence these measures are just predictors of how a person will behave.  That is, what would you do if…..?

How it works

For example if you saw an obnoxious drunk bother patrons in a public place you would:

  1. call security
  2. confront the drunk
  3. ignore the situation
  4. gather more data before deciding what to do
  5. leave

Persons with behaviour characteristics high in empathy or motivation would most likely take action 1 or 2.  Intellectually focused would take 4 or possibly 5 ( depending on the results of 4.  )

Those with average or low leadership tendencies probably go with the default.   Do nothing.

Many psychology experments have been conducted using tests to acertain IQ and EQ and then used scenarios to determine what the testee’s do.  In some cases rather than scenarios some of these studies used past behaviours.

Consistently, the behaviour you would expect intuitively based on the IQ and EQ measures  (  like the example above) was confirmed.

Think about it

A very powerful technique for improving your EQ  consists of walking yourself through significant scenarios you participated in over the last month and remembering how you behaved.

Were your objectives met.  Or if met was it efficient and pleasant?  What EQ characteristic behaviours could you have used for a better result.  Did others consider your actions kindly and effective?

Use the outcomes from these key experiences to drive improvement in the way you behave.  That is identifying what could be down better and what personal behaviours you need to change for that to become reality.

You can be a great leader, make it so.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Emotional Intelligence

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Today I got into a discussion with some colleagues about leadership behaviours.  The question arose what is more important for a leader, a high IQ (i.e., smart) or strong ability to interact with others (i.e., charismatic)

In his 1995 milestone book, American pyschologist Daniel Goleman proposed that while IQ probably represented the price of entry for great leaders(you needed at least some minimum IQ to succeed)  more important and a key determiner of success  was how you behaved.

He labled the measure of this ability to interract with others your emotional intelligence (EQ).  Goldman also developed a framework of five elements that can be measured to define your level of emotional intelligence.

An interesting side to this is the belief EQ can be developed and improved while many believe your IQ is what you were born with and cannot be developed.

Goldmans EI model has a great following in the by organizations around the world and has been adopted in various iterations by many companies.

Goldmans 5 Characteristics

Below are drastically  edited versions of Goldman’s 5 behavioural characteristics (for simplicity) taken from this website.  This just to give a flavour of what he considered behaviours that contributed to a high EQ..  For me, a high EQ equals a powerful and effective leader.

1) Self-Awareness – Self-aware people understand their emotions, and because of this, they don’t let their feelings rule them. They’re confident – because they trust their intuition and don’t let their emotions get out of control.  Many people believe that this self-awareness is the most important part of EI.

2) Self-Regulation – This is the ability to control emotions.  People who self-regulate typically don’t allow themselves to become too angry or jealous, and they don’t make impulsive, careless decisions.
3) Motivation – Motivated people are willing to defer immediate results for long-term success. They’re highly productive, love a challenge, and are very effective in whatever they do.
4) Empathy – This is the second-most important behaviour. Simply put, it is the ability to identify with and understand the wants, needs, and viewpoints of those around you.
5) Social Skills – Those with strong social skills are typically team players. Rather than focus on their own success first, they help others develop and shine.

Curious What Your EQ is?

There are numerous EQ test available on the internet that will provide you with an estimationof your EQ and an idea of areas you might to focus on to improve your EQ and so your leadership capability.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

What state are you in?

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Regardless of what you do every day (e.g., work for money, pleasure, charity, retired etc) you can classify how you feel about the surrounding culture/ environment into one or more of four categories.

Each category defines your behaviour and motivates your actions. These are:

  1. unsatisfying/ does not meet your needs
  2. a good match that inspires you
  3. not perfect for you but presents an opportunity to influence change
  4. not to your liking but you accept it

Recognizing your environmental category is an important skill (self awareness) .  It helps you conciously act on the unconcious behavior drivers associated with the culture you are emeshed in.

Self awareness is an empowering skill that allows you to ensure your behaviour is appropriate to the circumstances.  That is, control how you act separate from how you feel, to ensure positive outcomes.

Unsatisfying

Typically you would be motivated to leave this environment as soon as feasible.  This is not usually a happy place for you.  Don’t let your feelings drive bad (inappropriate ) behaviour.

Good Match

Embrace the environment.  That is, embrace how things are and thrive.  Should not be hard.  In this case, you are fully comfortable with the culture.

Not Perfect

There is a real opportunity here to create an environment you would consider a good match and it’s worth trying to do so.  Impact and influence behaviours are key.  Have fun with it.

Not to your liking

This situation is the hardest to take and can morph into deciding to leave.  Normally there is some real motivation to stay (e.g., need the money and cannot readily find a replacement).  Usually you feel trapped, unhappy and stressed.  This is a category you want to move away from as quickly as possible.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Criticism

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I am not a appreciative of the expression of disapproval by someone  based on my perceived faults or mistakes (i.e., criticism).  After all, I can figure out and correct my own faults and mistakes.

The well known basketball player Lebron James said “I like criticism, it makes you strong.”. Really, how so?  For me, criticism makes me angry, not strong and I don’t like it.

The Value Equation

What gives more value, identifying, understanding and self correcting your own faults or being made to feel inadequate by some one else for whom your faults probably provide enjoyment.

Self awareness is a much more powerful tool.  Effective and sustainable change first requires personal accountability, that is acceptance of the need to change.

Think of an addict.  It is well known the first step to recovery is accepting the fact recovery is needed.  Telling the addict they are an addict (a form of criticism) seldom works.

Constructive Criticism

To be fair, maybe Lebron is thinking of constructive criticism.  What a croc.  This is the classic case of abusing the English language to make something bad sound good.

Just the fact that someone felt the need to invent the term to sugar coat the value of criticism is proof enough to me that in and of itself, regardless of the kind, criticism is a bad thing and really most people don’t get stronger, they just dislike you.

To Lebron, I say, stick to basketball.  When you next run into me, remember, I see no value in criticism so do me a favour and keep it to yourself.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Your most powerfull tool

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A friend shared this quote  the other day.  It fits well with my own post of yesterday and so I wanted to highlight the quote and explore its meaning a little.

“Your mind is a powerfull thing.  When  you fill it with positive thoughts your life will start to change” –  Zig Ziglar, motivational speaker

Your Most Powerfull Tool

We all use tools to help us achieve our goals.  From a rake to a car we use tools to help us carry out a paticular function.  Things we probably could do without the tool become easier and usually are done with a higher quality when the tool is employed.

You can get from A to B without a car or get all the dead grass off your lawn without a rake, but I can’t imagine doing either of those things without some tool.  There are so many available.

Your mind can be used for many functions (a multi-use tool if you will) yet so many of us ignore the potential uses.  Frankly we take our minds for granted.

Many don’t even view their mind as a tool that we can employ to assist us.   Time and again athletes are quoted as saying “it wasn’t the skates, or the stick or the bike; I focused my mind on the achievement, that was the critical factor” .

So you want to be happy and successful, start with your mind.  It’s yours to command, take charge, visualize the positive and it will be yours.   Don’t wait, start now.

(If you achieve monetary success as a result of the concepts noted in this post, remember I am not adverse to financial gratuity.)

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Taking Accountability

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On Wednesday my post was about the practices of discipline and accountably as they relate to standards (aka rules).  Today I will focus on the practice of personal accountability as it relates to self-fullfillment.

Getting it done

Taking accountability to meet a standard, and even to exceed the standard can be a better way to adhere to rules then waiting to be disciplined as a way to correct your behavior and ultimately achieve compliance.

Even better is to proactively take the initiative.  This is a key attribute leaders  demonstrate consistently.  This means,  when you see a gap in processes and practices, take ownership of the issue and lead the implementation  action to resolve .  This leading by example can set off a chain reaction and before you know it everyone is taking accountability.

Taking accountability is a great way to get things accomplished, both through your own actions and as you spark the leader within others they  fill the gaps and the level of consistency and adherence to standards rises.

This effect applies both in personal and non- personal situations.  Generally wherher family or colleagues; both groups will be positively influenced by your lead to take accountability.

Feeling Good

Another key benefit of taking accountability is how it makes you feel.  The satisfaction associated with getting results leads to very positive feeligs.  This will make you want to shout the chorus line from that famous song by James Brown, “I feel good” and you will.

Start today, take accountabiliy, its just lying there waiting for you reach out and get it done  – don’t wait for permission, take control.