"What are you doing to help him?" I asked the Chairman of the Board, as we talked about the president of his organization who had developed a particular problem with his health. He was in his late forties and had gained enough weight to endanger his health. Because he had a family history of heart disease and other weight related issues, they were concerned. He was the "key man".
"I hold him accountable," he replied.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"Well, we get together and I hold him accountable to his diet and exercise to make sure that he is sticking to the program that the doctor has put him on," he explained.
"How is that going?" I inquired.
"Not so well," he said. "He is gaining weight."
"Not good. What is it you do when you 'hold him accountable'?" I asked.
"Well, just that. I hold him accountable to whether or not he has done what he was supposed to do," he repeated.
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"Well, just that. We look at whether or not he has stuck to his diet and exercise," he said.
"Is that the plan? The diet and exercise? Is that what you are holding him accountable to?" I asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Because if you care about him, and that is all that you are holding him accountable to, then you had better go tell him he is really in danger here and that this plan is hopeless," I said. "His life is at stake, so tell him quickly."
He did not understand why I said it was hopeless, as that sounded so negative. The good reality, though, was not that the situation was negative at all. It was just his way of dealing with it that was hopeless: accountability.
Accountability, as I explained to him, will never fix a problem. It is necessary, but not sufficient. And he, like many others, was treating it as if it were a fix in and of itself. I explained to him that accountability was a little like the accountant for his business. An accountant can take an accounting and find that you have a problem, but he does nothing to fix the problem. He just points out the red ink. Fixing the problem is what leadership does. It makes changes, works out issues, brings new resources to bear on the situation, implements new training, develops people, hires consultants, etc. But the accountant just tells you that you have a loss.
And that was what was happening in this situation with a leader who needed to make some serious life changes. He had no plan in place that was going to be a true "fix," but only the accountability relationship for sticking to the diet and exercise. Here is the problem: the man was unable to stick to the diet and exercise, for several reasons, and that is where the "fix" needed to take place.
For example, he did not have the self-discipline to work out regularly. So, we had to bring the discipline from the outside. We got a few other guys who cared about him to each take a day when they were working out, drop by and get him, and take him along. We had to bring it in from the outside. Eventually, he internalized that help and did it on his own, but not just from being accountable. He needed help.
Next, we found that he was eating (and you can substitute any addiction that leaders fall prey to, such as sex or porn) because he was trying to self-medicate a lot of pain that he had gone through recently that he was not dealing with anywhere. So, we got him in a group where he began to process what was going on in his life and he got over it. The pain that was driving the behavior was dealt with.
Also, his lack of communication skills produced more stress in his leadership than should have been there. So, we added some coaching in that area. As he got better in his ability to deal with people, work became "lighter."
Here is the point: the accountability of the board chair changed from holding him accountable for the "problem," to holding him accountable to sticking to the "process." When they met, they would certainly ask how the problem was going; his eating, etc. (substitute any behavior a leader has). But, they would also hold him accountable for sticking to the process which would fix the problem, and that became the focus of the accountability relationship. "Are you still in the work-out group? Are you still going to your therapy group? Are you meeting with your coach?" If the answer was "no", then there would be consequences.
The bible says over and over, and research proves it, that we do not grow by just "choosing to be healthy" where we are broken. We grow by choosing to submit ourselves to the spiritual, relational, healing, and skills-building processes that will make us healthy. It is involvement in the process that brings development, not just trying to do better.
So, the lesson for accountability is this: accountability is crucial. It lets us know when there is a problem. But, it will not fix a problem. Instead, accountability needs to be put in place to hold leaders accountable for more than just the "problem behavior", and making sure the leader isn't "doing it", whatever "it" may be. Accountability must be in place to make sure that the prescribed "fixes" are being adhered to. If a leader in trouble is doing this, and staying with the process, then there is a much better chance for growth and recovery.
It behooves leaders and boards who are trying to develop people to make sure that those processes exist and are available for the key people that they are concerned with. Get a coaching process, or help, for the ones that you have high stakes invested in. That may be you. Whoever it is, hold that person accountable not just for the "problem," but for the "answer" as well. Hold them accountable for the process that will make them whole.
God Bless,
Henry Cloud, Ph.D.
