Accountability (A Reflection from Genesis)

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:9-13 (NIV)

My reading of Genesis leads me to believe that Adam was the person who had primary accountability in the story. He failed. When confronted regarding the mistake, Adam’s first reaction was to blame Eve. I can only imagine what was going on in Eve’s mind when he did that, “Really? Like you didn’t know what you were eating.” Adam lost his credibility both with God and with Eve at that moment.

It is important to note, God did not ask, “Why did you eat the fruit?” He asked, “Did you eat the fruit?” When asked a direct question, Adam and Eve deflected.

If we desire to lead in a way that has a positive impact on others, I believe we need to have a strong sense of integrity, accept responsibility for ourselves, and build a culture of accountability within our teams.

Right and Wrong

Do the right thing. There are black and white situations where it is easy for us to know the difference between right and wrong. In those situations, those of us who have experience and maturity generally know which route to take and we usually take it, even when it hurts.

There are also gray areas. In those “gray areas” we may find excuses and justifications for doing something wrong even though we know it is wrong. Several years ago, I came up with a simple rule for myself in these situations, “Is this the example I want to set for my children?”

If we have faith in God, when we do not do what we should, we admit it to ourselves and God and seek and accept forgiveness. We reflect on the situation so that we can do better in the future without criticizing ourselves. If someone else then confronts us on what we did wrong, we will be in a better place to react appropriately.

Personal Responsibility

There have been times in my life when, internally at least, I have blamed others for a situation in my life I was not content with. Ultimately, we come to a point in our lives where we recognize that our situation is wholly dependent upon our actions and the will of God. If we trust God, we understand that whatever we are going through is meant for us to grow and that, ultimately, everything will need to work out. There is no need to blame another person nor to feel regret for our personal actions that led us to this place. All we can do is learn from the situation, pray, and move on.

If we are married and have children, life is stressful. Most people are doing the best they can; juggling work, family, and other commitments is difficult. Things go wrong. Oftentimes, when something goes wrong, even if I don’t outwardly blame Rita (my wife), I may still tell myself it was her fault, which could lead to resentment if I let this go on. However, I soon come to recognize that the thing that went wrong really wasn’t that big of a deal and that I shared in the responsibility for things not working out. The most productive thing we can do is ask ourselves, “What will I do differently in the future?” to lessen the likelihood of the situation recurring.

Leadership

I recognized years ago that, if my team or a member of my team fails, the first person I need to look at is myself. Did I provide my team with appropriate training and did we as an organization provide them with the appropriate support mechanisms for them to be successful? I have found in my experience that the problem usually lies with training and/or the broader system rather than the employee.

When I was the Chief Financial Officer of a nonprofit, I had oversight of the food service department for a couple of years. When we went through a period of extremely high turnover, I recognized that, if I did not step in, the manager was going to have to work long hours seven days a week until we could get staff in. We reached out to a staffing agency to get people in as fast as we could, but I also recognized I needed to help in the kitchen. While we were finding and training new cooks, I came in early in the morning a few times over a period of a couple of weeks to cook so that the staff would not have to work a double shift. This was because I recognized that, though I was not trained as a cook, I was accountable for the results of the department and for the well-being of my team.

Although there are times when we, as leaders, need to step to perform tasks ourselves, the best long-term solution is to ensure that accountability lies at the lowest possible level. To do this, we need to ensure that our teams have both the appropriate training and the support mechanisms to be successful. For our teams to succeed with these resources, we also need to build a relationship of trust with people. Regardless of how well trained and supported people are, everyone makes mistakes. Within reason, people need to feel safe to make an occasional mistake for them to perform at their best. If possible, fear should not be part of the motivation equation. When we feel fear, we either want to run or we become paralyzed and neither of these reactions helps us to perform well. There is also a greater likelihood that, when a mistake is made, people may deflect the responsibility to the situation or others because they are afraid of the repercussions.

I presume most people who read this have responded like Adam and Eve did at some point in their lives. It is tragic if an action where we make a big mistake and blame someone else becomes what we are remembered by. However, if we live with the conviction to do the right thing and to take personal responsibility when we make mistakes, we can demonstrate accountability to others, and generally live more peacefully within ourselves. Those of us in leadership positions have a greater sphere of responsibility as we are accountable for the actions of those who report to us.