Responsibility, Accountability and Taking Ownership
I was headed into the men’s room when I noticed a large trash can was on its side. I was bothered by the fact that someone had done that, especially considering it was my friend’s residential complex swimming pool.
What upset me more, though, is what happened when I walked out of the restroom. A lifeguard was walking towards the restroom and I thought, ‘great, that trash can will get turned right side up’. Instead, though, the lifeguard walked right by it.
I immediately tried to imagine why the lifeguard wouldn’t have turned the trash can right-side-up. I assumed the lifeguard didn’t have an explicit responsibility related to that trash can. I also imagined, since he was a teenager and working part time, he didn’t feel accountable for how the pool area was maintained. However, the fact that he didn’t take ownership to address something he wasn’t responsible for, bothered me.
In this moment, the meaning of the words, and more importantly, how to use responsibility, accountability and ownership, seemed so clear. Yet, when I reflect on the numerous times I have heard these words used to express frustration about colleagues, I begin to realize how these words are abused. I begin to think that when others attribute these words to their colleagues, they themselves are not taking ownership of what is frustrating them.
The lifeguard scenario provoked me to wonder:
What are the working conditions that inspire ownership of results you aren’t responsible for?
How do you define each of these terms?
Differentiate them?
Use them in some form of linear reasoning?
How can these terms be clearly communicated in a positive way?
Let’s examine these terms through the eyes of a Middle Leader; a Head of department or Grade Level Leader. The Middle Leader is responsible for ensuring team members attend to their responsibilities. This Middle Leader also has some accountability for how well their team members perform, but as often is the case, it is not explicit and is often assumed by senior leaders.
From a middle leader’s perspective, the most basic responsibility of any teacher, including their team members, is lesson planning, ensuring they are prepared to teach. I often refer to these tasks as Outputs. Teachers are responsible for several outputs.
But what if the lesson doesn’t yield the desired results, or artifacts of learning? Being accountable requires taking time to reflect on what has gone wrong and taking on additional responsibility (outputs) to achieve the desired results. Being accountable, in this case, relates to the outcome, the results. Outcomes are the result of several outputs.
“Not how many worms the bird feeds its young, but how well the fledgling flies.” – United Way of America, 1999
But what if this problem is not isolated to the teacher’s lesson? What if students across the grade level or subject are having similar difficulties? Taking ownership in this case would require reviewing the curriculum and collaborating with other stakeholders. This is definitely not a teacher’s responsibility and, in many cases, not explicitly the Grade Level Leader or Head of Subjects responsibility. Accountability most often is not clear. But, taking ownership, would require being able to articulate the problem, identify all the parties required to address the problem and then ensuring corrective actions are taken.
In this latter case, teachers take ownership when their values and beliefs compel them to take action. Teachers take ownership when they feel safe and trusted to share their views and test their assumptions.
Encouraging behaviours to be responsible, accountable and taking ownership
To encourage teachers to act responsibly requires leaders to communicate clearly and make all of the expected outputs very explicit. Caution, though, must be taken when defining the outputs that are expected, because if leaders are too prescriptive, it will limit a teacher’s agency to take ownership when problems arise.
Moreover, it is not enough to ask teachers to lesson plan. Examples of best practice should be shared and teachers should be given tools and resources to assess the effectiveness of instruction. Clearly understood and accepted definitions for teaching and learning can help to ensure learning outcomes for lessons and units are aligned with the school’s guiding policies.
Expecting a teacher or even a middle leader to be accountable for student results not only requires establishing clear guidelines for assessing student performance, but also giving them authority to act. Authority to act may mean deviating from the curriculum or delegating responsibilities to others to free up time to research, consult and take corrective actions.
Taking ownership, though, isn’t something you can expect or clearly communicate or even draft guidelines for. Ample research suggests you can’t even incentivize staff to motivate them to take ownership. Taking ownership is a reflection of a teacher’s relationship to the students, leadership, school and community.
If you want to see more lifeguards picking up trash cans, then that means you need to pick up trash cans and share with people the reasons why you did it. If you want staff taking ownership you need to instill trust and confidence in them to take measured actions when they observe trash cans tipped over. If you want to encourage staff to take ownership, then you need to make sure everyone feels safe to point out the tipped over trash cans, and confident to pick them up.
Michael Iannini is an education management consultant that is recognized by the Council of International Schools as an expert in Strategic Planning, Governance, Human Resource Management, and Leadership Development. He is the author of Hidden in Plain Sight: Realizing the Full Potential of Middle Leaders, and coordinates professional development for a network of over 250 private schools in Asia for the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools and Search Associates. You can learn more about Michael and his work by visiting www.pdacademia.com and www.middleleader.com.
