One of the most difficult English words to translate into Korean is accountability. The Naver Dictionary of Educational Terms renders accountability as chaekmuseong (責務性), a Chinese-Korean term related to duty or obligation. When asked about the difference between accountability and responsibility—both commonly translated as “responsibility”—one contributor on Naver Knowledge iN explained it this way: “Responsibility simply refers to having a duty, whereas accountability means acknowledging that responsibility and actually bearing the consequences for it.”
In the previous issue, I argued that the most essential element of teamwork is delegation. In this issue, I would like to discuss the leadership factor that makes delegation successful: accountability. From the perspective of the team leader who delegates a task, accountability means holding others responsible. From the perspective of the team member who receives the task, it means taking responsibility. If a leader delegates work but neither verifies whether the task was accomplished nor offers rewards or consequences, then teamwork will accomplish nothing.
In December 2018, the Business Journal published a sobering article titled “The Most Expensive Mistake Leaders Can Make.” The article cited a Gallup survey that asked employees, “After your manager assigns you a task, does he or she follow up to see whether the task was completed?” Fewer than 40 percent of respondents answered “Yes.” In other words, more than 60 percent of leaders do not check whether the work they delegated was actually accomplished.
Why do leaders fail to follow up? One possible reason is that the goals they assign are vague and unmeasurable, making verification difficult or even pointless. Needless to say, an unmeasurable goal is not a good goal. No arrow can hit a vague target. Even more troubling, when there is no target at all, any arrow appears to be a bullseye. It is no coincidence that news reports have described sexual violence and harassment as the “primary enemy” within the Korean military after the loss of a clearly defined main adversary.
Furthermore, a leader who does not verify outcomes is unlikely to have coached the person responsible during the process. This is one of the key reasons professionals fail to develop. Some leaders avoid checking results simply because they want to avoid the uncomfortable and confrontational situation of holding someone accountable for failure. Regardless of the reason, the University of Dayton Leadership Center points out that a leader’s failure to demand accountability for delegated tasks is a fatal blow to teamwork.
There is a well-known saying, eupcham-masok (泣斬馬謖)—“shedding tears while executing Ma Su.” When Ma Su, the general most favored by Zhuge Liang, failed to carry out his mission, Zhuge Liang wept but ordered his execution nonetheless. Without such resolve, teamwork cannot exist. For leaders who desire truly exceptional teamwork, the essential leadership quality is the courage to hold people accountable after delegation. If both corrective action for failure and praise or reward for success are quietly skipped—if everything is diluted and glossed over—then genuine teamwork will never take place.
I will never forget something John Maxwell said at a leadership conference many years ago:
“Of all the organizations in the world, none understands leadership less than the church. When a church member completes an assigned task, pastors often fail to recognize or reward that effort publicly and instead simply say, ‘Praise the Lord. Thank you, Lord.’ And even when a church member fails to complete a task, pastors pat them on the back and say, ‘Brother, stay strong. It’s okay. Aren’t we all busy? I completely understand that you didn’t have time.’”
When everything is handled this way, there can be no real teamwork between pastors and congregants. As a result, the church remains an inefficient and fragile organization.
Leaders must learn from the Parable of the Talents. The master rewarded the servants who invested what they were given and produced fruit. The servant who buried his talent and produced nothing was punished. In leadership terms, the master delegated responsibility and then held his servants accountable for the results. Is not the final judgment the ultimate act of accountability, in which the Creator—who entrusted humanity with stewardship of life—holds us responsible at the end of history? Without final judgment, human life would descend into chaos and moral recklessness.
Delegation and accountability are inseparable twins. Without delegation, there can be no extraordinary results through teamwork. But once delegation occurs, accountability must be required. And requiring accountability takes courage. Exceptional teamwork—delegation coupled with accountability—is not something a timid leader can sustain.