No Way To Prevent This, Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
- Thread starter LightningCrash
- Start Date
Accountability for one's actions never hurt anyone who's doing the right thing.
True, sadly does that mean far too few are trying to do the right thing?
I think there are more than a few who WANT to do the right thing, but don't because they feel obstructed in doing so.
I think there are more than a few who WANT to do the right thing, but don't because they feel obstructed in doing so.
If so then maybe we have a much bigger problem than we know.
Accountability for one's actions never hurt anyone who's doing the right thing.
I've always noted you're in favor of accountability, even among your own group.
Accountability for one's actions never hurt anyone who's doing the right thing.
The problem with accountability is you are accountable mostly for the bad things and never rewarded for the good things. Since there is no reward for doing the right thing and only punishment for doing something wrong people play it safe and "pass the buck". For example if your job says that if person a is doing action a refer them to option b. If you do that then you are "doing your job". Even if you know that option b is not what that person needs on your flow chart is says option b. You could go out on a limb and send them to another option that may work for them, however if it does not work you will get in trouble for not going with the correct option. If it does work you can still get in trouble or maybe nobody will care.
Not saying I disagree but that sounds more like technical accountability, as opposed to equal personal accountability when people do wrong. An example is the current VA scandal, we may see the problem fixed but will the individuals who personally committed criminal acts be held accountable, to often it seems the record shows they wont be. My point was if there was strict accountability it would be a deterrent to going with the flow when it's wrong. Then when enough people couldn't be found to take the risk of doing wrong when told to things would change.
One of the biggest problems is a matter of culture. I get asked all the time "Why do you try so hard? It's not gaining you anything, so why do it?" Well I do it because I gain intellectually and spiritually. I don't require a monetary reward. Just yesterday I was asked a question that wasn't in my area of expertise. I could've taken the easy way out and said "You'll have to wait till so-and-so comes back to work next week for an answer". Instead I stopped what I was doing and did my best to provide an answer. It turns out they were on a conference call in the next office with DC, trying to explain why a program requirement wasn't feasible for our situation. I went over and asked a couple of questions, then provided a detailed explanation of what we really had on the ground, and why the raw data in the system was misleading. After providing the information, the HQ person agreed that simply "painting by the numbers" wasn't going to work. They would need to gather more detailed data about how things work at each field office, so they could tailor the program to fit. They changed the requirements for our office on the spot and thanked us for the information. After the call ended, I was thanked profusely for assisting.
Now I'm not going to get a bonus for saving about a hundred hours per month per office in misdirected efforts that would've undermined the overall mission, not to mention annoying the bejeezus out of our stakeholders AND our own employees. I was just doing the right thing. I did go about the rest of my day with a sense of accomplishment, which is reward enough for me.
Unfortunately, we tend to reward the cautious and discourage the risk takers. I've always told my bosses that I'll do my level best to make them look good, but I'm going to do the right thing. That means I occasionaly step on a few toes, but so be it. I also praise those who take initiative, accept my own mistakes and never shirk my own responsibility.
What we need is that culture change, where those who undermine the braver efforts of people with stronger conviction that they'll ever have, don't reap rewards. We need to favor critical thinking skills over rote memorization. We need to stop programming our youth for careers as mindless drones. In WWII, American soldiers were considered dangerous without leadership, particularly by the Germans. They recognized that if you killed a platoon leader or NCO, it didn't matter. The American troops didn't require an officer to take initiative, they'd do it themselves. meanwhile a leaderless German platoon was apt to just surrender. They were never trained to take anything but orders and follow them blindly.
If we lose that fierce, independent fighting streak, we're hosed. Yet senior people who should know better have been spending the better part of a half century trying to extinguish that fire. Why? Because it makes their efforts to undermine things for their own self interests easier. Simply put, there are priviliged people in this country who need a swift kick in the nuts... very, very much.
Now I'm not going to get a bonus for saving about a hundred hours per month per office in misdirected efforts that would've undermined the overall mission, not to mention annoying the bejeezus out of our stakeholders AND our own employees. I was just doing the right thing. I did go about the rest of my day with a sense of accomplishment, which is reward enough for me.
Unfortunately, we tend to reward the cautious and discourage the risk takers. I've always told my bosses that I'll do my level best to make them look good, but I'm going to do the right thing. That means I occasionaly step on a few toes, but so be it. I also praise those who take initiative, accept my own mistakes and never shirk my own responsibility.
What we need is that culture change, where those who undermine the braver efforts of people with stronger conviction that they'll ever have, don't reap rewards. We need to favor critical thinking skills over rote memorization. We need to stop programming our youth for careers as mindless drones. In WWII, American soldiers were considered dangerous without leadership, particularly by the Germans. They recognized that if you killed a platoon leader or NCO, it didn't matter. The American troops didn't require an officer to take initiative, they'd do it themselves. meanwhile a leaderless German platoon was apt to just surrender. They were never trained to take anything but orders and follow them blindly.
If we lose that fierce, independent fighting streak, we're hosed. Yet senior people who should know better have been spending the better part of a half century trying to extinguish that fire. Why? Because it makes their efforts to undermine things for their own self interests easier. Simply put, there are priviliged people in this country who need a swift kick in the nuts... very, very much.
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