In my work as a coach, I have regularly listened to people expressing concerns about accountability in organisations, politics, our education system or life in general. Much has been written on the subject yet somehow the issue persists and seems to remain pervasive.
Accountability remains an issue because it tugs at one of our core concerns – fairness. We see injustices and we want them addressed. Yet we live in diverse societies with many very different ideas about what is good and bad, right and wrong. There are people and their supporters who feel that society’s laws and commonly accepted norms do not apply to them. Certainly not everyone is treated equally. Against this backdrop, it would seem poor accountability is here to stay. However, poor accountability has a toxic effect on how we see ourselves, how we relate to others and what we can achieve. With that in mind, there are certainly things we can do about accountability in our own sphere.
The ontological approach offers some unique ways to explore the issue of accountability. Although I will touch on some general themes of accountability in this essay, my ultimate goal is to identify strategies to address what is missing regarding accountability and create a culture of greater accountability in an organisational setting. I will do this by:
- Providing a more fulsome definition of accountability;
- Exploring why accountability is so important;
- Sharing some ontological distinctions that form the basis of my ideas about accountability; and
- Offering some ideas about how to more effectively be accountable in our own lives and generate a culture of accountability within groups and organisations.
