Are You Accountable? Solid or Dotted Lines

How accountable are you REALLY in large organisations? The scale and complexity of global organisations encourages them to fudge accountability and responsibility. Everyone is responsible; so no one is responsible.

Various systems are experimented with; matrix organisations with accountability in 3 different planes, upwards sideways and diagonally. If you don’t understand that, then you’re not alone. Then there are Councils with silos and horizontal accountability. Then there are co-heads, so both are responsible for leading a department and everyone has to be consulted and have endless corridor conversations.

You also have “Solid and Dotted-line” accountability. A fudge if ever I met one.

The result is hours and days of meetings, consultation, lobbying and endless politics and clashes of egos. Wasted time, effort and money that can’t be afforded in today’s austere times.

In the military in peace and on operations we had one commander and a clear chain of command with very specific accountability and responsibility. You couldn’t hide or fudge your resposibility. The buck stopped with you.

Business is not the military; I have worked in both. There does however need to be clearer accountability; in organisational structure, role descriptions and personal moral responsibility.

Go on take responsibility and sort out the fudges and shirkers.
Warm regards Jonathan