WOW – Ways of Working: A Case Study by Andrew Gemmell

Resilience has become a pervasive word in recent years, finding its way into conversations about various challenges such as Covid and inter-generational perceptions. It is a nuanced quality in humans, and its development involves input from numerous domains. Amidst the nuances, there is a simple yet often overlooked concept that can significantly reduce the stress experienced in our work: Accountability.

Though familiar with the word and concept of accountability, I, like many others, realised that applying it, was a little harder to do than say. Distractions, assumptions and stress can make us lose our way. When we lose our way, valuable frameworks and principles like accountability can go by the wayside. Ironically it is when you need to apply it the most.

Before delving into the reasons behind this, it’s worth distinguishing between responsibility and accountability. Responsibility often has a team-based view, such as “We are responsible for customer service.” Whereas accountability centres on the individual, providing clear instructions and guidelines for achievement and progress. For instance, “I am accountable for producing and delivering our customer reports by 5 pm every Friday.

At Aide de MD, we employ a simple framework to guide individuals in exploring accountability. While the model is straightforward, our experience in global development workshops reveals that explicit points within this model are frequently overlooked. Many managers and leaders operate on assumptions, mostly revolving around assuming everyone will inherently understand the “why”, “who”, “what” and “when”. This approach, which implies accountability rather than explicitly defining it, leads to poor communication. This can become problematic when accountability is not integrated into our WOW, (Ways of Working).

Consequently, teams and individuals may find themselves expending high amounts of cognitive energy chasing up work, reclaiming delegated tasks, or engaging in challenging conversations. Cognitive energy is pivotal to remaining calm, with a clear mind, and managing stress. The more cognitive energy we possess, the better equipped we are to navigate the day, having improved problem-solving abilities and the capacity to build stronger connections at work.

Reflecting on the three-month delivery of Aide de MD’s Management Immersion Program (MIP) with a group of managers recently, the most common positive takeaway was the exploration and implementation of accountability in their work. The reported benefits included no longer feeling overwhelmed, resulting in a heightened sense of resilience to handle ad hoc challenges. In essence, embracing accountability not only streamlines workflow, but it also provides a stronger sense of control and order, which contributes to a more resilient and adaptive work environment.