“This program brought team members on board, and asked them to help manage the change. It gave them a chance to show leadership, and they did.”

--Manager,
Hewlett Packard
Accountability
“Our managers need to hold people accountable more than they do today.” This is a common reason for bringing in Interact. Helping managers build accountability involves more than a half-day training program and a few rote steps. Below are a few of the questions we ask, and some of the answers our customers have given us.
 		  
Interact Questions   Examples from Interact's Experience with Customers

What does “lack of accountability” look like in your organization?

 •


•


•



•		 People miss deadlines and budgets without involving or warning others in advance.

Managers and employees from other departments don’t follow through on commitments they have made.

People have trouble getting the information, support, and resources they need from managers above them in the organization.

Problems seem to be solved, but keep recurring.

What business impact do these actions have? How common are they? How costly are they?

 •



•


•



•		 The organization experiences time and budget overruns, and managers are blindsided and embarrassed for not having the information in advance.

Projects are stalled, and valuable employees are sidelined as they wait for the cooperation they need.

Bad decisions are made. Time and money is invested in non-strategic areas. Managers and employees become frustrated.

Frustration builds into conflict. Reputation and credibility suffer.

What are some approaches for addressing these issues?

 •




•






•		 Organization Design: Re-organize groups to bring interdependent people together. Make sure the organizational hierarchy reflects the key accountability relationships.

Organizational Systems: Use project management systems to cut across organizational hierarchies. Increase the range of people who have input into performance appraisals. Improve the measurement and feedback systems in areas where accountability seems poor.

Training: Interact’s courses in Performance ManagementTM, Team ConsensusTM, and Performance Problem SolvingTM have played a key part in improving organizational accountability.