At times of economic crisis, any initiative that will increase short term performance is particularly welcome. A few years ago, I studied the values and behaviors that were necessary to build accountability into a culture and built them into a change program.
What if you could build a culture where it was just not acceptable to keep your word? A culture of making and keeping promises. Remember every culture has norms of what is acceptable behavior. In an accountable culture, the people take the giving and keeping of their word very seriously. Because the cultural norm is that once you commit to delivering something, you do it. There is also a responsibility for those who hold people accountable to negotiate goals which are stretch, but achievable. Setting ridiculously high goals and then blaming everyone else when they are not met is no more a part of an accountable culture than giving your word casually and then failing to deliver.
The Achievement culture is one of the five I describe in my book. Its contribution to the organization? Achieving what was promised, over and over again.
Here is a clip where I talk some more about building a culture of Achievement and Accountability.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fijKaN6ROD8&hl=en&fs=1&]
