SENSE & ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability is a bit of a dirty word to some. In the work place I am frequently surprised by those that refuse to accept accountability for their actions. I do; that’s part of my role, and I do it without hesitation. What I can’t get my head around are those that perpetually play the card of decisions that they are making not being their responsibility; “I was only following orders” springs to mind.

At what point did accountability cease to be a natural and required quality? Is it because in the modern world of work (crickey that makes me sound old) there are generally a number of removes between the public and the ultimately responsible CEO?

The first point of contact is more than six degrees of Kevin Bacon away from the consumer/user which breeds the culture of blame and buck passing.

Service and pride in what you choose to do for a living should be givens. Don’t get me wrong, there is more to life than work; much more, but if you freely go into a line of work, do what you can to work with a bit of pride and professionalism.

I work in an environment where generally speaking the buck stops with me and that’s fine; I chose my career and position and accepted the adage from Ben Parker “ with great power comes great responsibility”. Only I believe that with power of any kind comes great responsibility.

You can probably tell, dear reader, that I need a holiday. Soon, very soon.