Responsibility and Accountability of Resources

Responsibility inspires people. It doesn’t come for free and it gives meaning to their working lives; a chance to use more than just one percent of their brain power; a taste of professional excitement; and at the high end, the power to hire, fire, and write cheques. They are committed to knowing what goes on and why and if they keep it up, they can take the longest lunch and holidays, safe in the knowledge that they are valued and indispensable. But for the majority of office workers, those who are safe in their little cubicles, minimal responsibility is sufficient responsibility. So let them be.

For those who want to get ahead, they have to prove that they’re not simply responsible for themselves, but they can be responsible for one other, then another, then five, ten, even fifty thousand other people. Positions of responsibility have leverage over other peoples’ responsibility, status, and security. The more people, machines, assets (and who knows what else) you are responsible for, the more you get paid. Simple.

So, people fake, lie, bully and buy their way into positions of responsibility which they subsequently have to defend, while most of us are honest and hard working and strive to get there without a trail of blood behind us. We desperately want it all to be clean and to receive a fair reward that recognises our true and destined status. But no matter how one gets there, what people are paid for and proudly responsible for, is what makes them accountable and therefore liable to get their arses kicked. Responsibility is one thing (you can be proud to be responsible), accountability is another (you fear being accountable), and in any office, where knowledge is the currency and people make decisions, if a fault is found, blame will not be far behind. If the fault, and hence blame, is wrongly apportioned it doesn’t matter. It’s there because it’s part of the game of competition. If you’re hit with blame, you lose some of that hard won responsibility.

So, it’s no surprise that people in positions of responsibility fake, lie, bully, and buy their way out of being accountable while those of us who are honest but jaded, hard working but exhausted, delegate minions to do our dirty work.  All that really counts for being responsible and accountable is to be able prove that you can be trusted with what you’ve got, and regardless of the moral outcome, show that you can get the job done and simultaneously deal with your competitors.