Accountability Without Authority: Management vs. Leadership

If you have ever been placed in a position of having a large and ambitious objective, but have been given no tasking or decision-making authority, this article is for you.

 This article is spot on–it articulates the fundamental problem of launching some new initiative w/o ‘teeth’, especially in the midst of a large and bureaucratic organization (as is often the case when consulting for our client agencies in the US federal government).

There are times and circumstances, when a ‘manager’ is placed in a position of no authority—and all they have to rely on is influence, relationships, and being a conduit of information. However, if they have an ambitious mandate, a project or process manager must be given ‘tasking authority’. No one is going to drop what they are doing and help this manager, unless this manager cuts their paycheck or has a say in their business. You cannot manage a project/process and not manage people.

It reminds me of when I got first aid training in basic training—when you arrive at a casualty, you look at a single person, look them in the eye, and say ‘go get help’, rather than yelling ‘go get thelp to the group’. Accountability has to go down to the individual level, or nothing will get done. In another example—look at Libya and the NATO method of ‘war by committee’. Leaders make decisions. If you designate someone as a leader—give them the power to make decisions.

Some Management Insight from Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder of Amazon

Interesting profile on Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon, and the way he runs his business. Of note, is his tendency to make big business bets that may actually lose money in the short term but prove to pay-off big in the long-term. Can think of this in terms of your own business as well as your own career.

Reminds me of how Google encourages its employees to spend 20% of their time to freely explore new ideas. I understand many large companies is very interested in the ability to develop in-house innovations, an especially hard thing to do in the face of the short-term expectations of Wall St. How much time do you allocate in your own life to pursue your own ‘big idea’?