“True leadership means taking ownership, not shifting blame.”— John Maxwell
When I first embarked on a leadership role, some 35 years ago, my boss stressed to me that as the leader of the team, I am solely responsible and answerable to her. “I don’t care and I don’t want to hear about the inefficiency and shortcoming of your team members. The buck stops at you”, she said. Early on, I learned what leadership accountability is all about.
It’s about taking personal responsibility for my own and my team member’s decisions, actions, and their consequences, whether good and bad, without shifting blame to others. As a leader, I have made thousands of decisions and actions. It was easy for me to acknowledge and own up my choices of actions when the consequences are positive. But it requires a different mindset and resolve when the results are not favorable. Human tendency is to find excuses and shield oneself from the backlash. But that voice saying, “The buck stops at you”, has constantly reminded me that an accountable leader does not deflect responsibility when things go wrong. Whether I knew about it or took part of the actions that led to the negative outcomes, is immaterial. As the leader, I am automatically part of the problem. As the leader, my action or inaction, made it happen!
That’s leadership accountability, in its true and simple form. A leader cannot excuse himself, whitewash, or refuse to hold responsibility or involvement for the team’s negative outcomes.
To say that accountability is important, is an understatement. Accountability or holding people accountable for results should be at the core of every team or organization. It can make or break the team. When team members uphold accountability, they take ownership of their tasks, are more engage, and conscientious leading to better performance. On the other hand, when people takes accountability for granted, they won’t take responsibility for themselves and won’t be held accountable by others, for their own actions. They are not mindful and afraid of the consequences of their actions. Lack of accountability is usually the biggest barrier to a team’s success.
When asked what should be done to reform the DPWH, Secretary Vince Dizon said that we should bring back accountability and fear in these officials. He feels they have no fear of the consequences of their actions. “Wala silang takot!” They were so bold in doing all these anomalies because they thought there will be no consequences. We have to make these people accountable again.”
In the on-going corruption scandal beleaguering our country, there is a clear absence of accountability in all levels of the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branch of the government. Everyone else is guilty except for themselves. While all these anomalies are happening under their noses with their handprints stamped all over the crime scene, no leader has stepped forward and claimed accountability for what has happened. Amidst all their grandstanding and charade, you will never hear them owning up to their participation in this scandal. They were quick to “wash their hands” and shift the blame to others.
But people know better. We know that as leaders, these “honorables” have command responsibility. When governance fails, accountability must begin at the top. I am both sad and angry when I hear heads of the different government agencies involved in the scandal, deny knowledge of the corruption happening in their respective teams. It’s either their ignorance is complicity in disguise or they are simply inefficient and ineffective for this malaise to grow in their team without their knowledge. In either case, they don’t deserve to be in their position and should be held answerable.
But we should not be surprised when these heads act this way because their Chief Executive has set a very good example in whitewashing and deflecting. He blames the legislators who did the insertions, the department heads who released the insertions and the contractors who colluded to pocket the insertions. Forgetting that he was the final approving authority of all the sinful insertions. And then he asked, “Bakit tayo nagkaganito?” My simple reply, “The buck stops at you, Mr President!” However you position it, you cannot escape culpability in this mess.
There is civil restlessness. The Filipinos are losing trust on the institutions that are supposed to protect them. The Filipinos are demanding transparency from our leaders. The Filipinos deserve the truth and justice.
It’s time to make our leaders take responsibility and own their part in this corrupt system of our government. Let’s make them accountable!
