Sometimes the overall culture of an organization discourages leaders from holding people accountable. I have seen this phenomenon, for example, in a number of churches. Staff members will not be carrying their weight. They come and go as they please. No one really knows how much they work in a given week, but many suspect that the hours are minimal.

What makes organizations weak? Is it a failure of good strategic planning? Are there cultural issues that preclude good performance? Are many leaders and workers failing to execute? While these issues are important, new information suggests that there may be one major issue we have often overlooked.

An Insightful Revelation

In a recent publication by Darren Overfield and Rob Kaiser, the authors culled through their research since 2010 of 5,400 leaders in organizations in four continents. They found that accountability was the weakest link in organizational behavior. Nearly half, 46 percent, said they do not have sufficient accountability from managers and leaders. The two authors noted, “No matter how tough a game they may talk about performance, when it comes to holding people’s feet to the fire, leaders step back from the heat.”

The evidence is overwhelming. Leaders are letting people get away with laziness, lack of productivity, personal branding, and personal interests to the detriment of the organization. Overfield and Kaiser offer some historical reasons that might explain this counterintuitive behavior. I have added a few of my own.

Lack of Courage Among Leaders

Some leaders are simply unwilling to have the tough conversations with those in their organization. For certain, those conversations are not fun and they are thus often placed on the backburner. Anytime we confront someone with his or her deficiencies, we can be certain there will be negative emotions. So it’s just sometimes easier to take the path of the coward and do nothing.

Read More