This document discusses ways to build accountable teams. It defines accountability as taking responsibility for one's actions and their consequences. It notes there are three meanings: accountability, responsibility, and commitment. It then outlines six tracks to develop accountability: 1) extending the perimeter of accountability; 2) developing empowerment; 3) developing a results-oriented culture; 4) encouraging innovation and risk-taking; 5) developing agility; and 6) redefining the manager's role to focus on communication, confidence, creation, and competency development through coaching. The overall message is that accountability is a process that requires empowering teams and focusing on collective goals and mutual accountability.

1. What is accountability ?
6 tracks to build autonomous
and accountable teams

2.  What is accountability ? : a complexe notion
3 Different significations
1-Accountabilty : capacity to bear and to show liability for my
actions and their consequences on my environment and on
others.
2-Responsability (close to the notion of realism VS
irresponsibility) : capacity to act, taking into account obligations
(rules norms…), risks, constraints and limits.
3-Commitment : capacity to engage my self and show this
engagement trough relevant actions.
© Frédéric Botter

3.  What is accountability ? : A complex notion
3 significations
SUB… leads to OVER… leads to
1-Accountability
Denial of my actions
and of their
consequences
Avoiding : systematic
discharge of
accountability on
others or on
environment
Feeling accountable for
actions or consequences
which are not in my
perimeter of
accountability
Permanent feeling of
guilt
2-Responsability Utopia/unrealism
Stiffness, conformism,
conservatism,
No change
3-Commitment
Without 1 : fake engagement
Without 2 : unrealistic engagement
© Frédéric Botter

4.  A management process
• Accountability can’t be imposed
or forced
• It’s not enough to tell people
« be accountable ! » to obtain it
1-Accountability is a
management process and a
progressive change process
Accountable for what ?

5.  Accountable for what ?
5
• Exactly as
we plan
•Results
•Process
•Costs
•Deadlines
•Anticipate
•Provide
•Analyse risks
•Plan
•Correct
•Communicate
•Report
•Improve
•Innovate and
change
Act Plan
DoCheck

6.  On which activities people at work, feel usually the
most accountable (according to you) ?
6
Act
Plan
Do
Check
Why ?
Means ?
Competences ?
Motivation ?

7.  But…at the same time…
Just think about all the things people are usually able to plan, do, check and
improve…in their private life.
Often with a high level of commitment and efficiency !
Wedding organisation
No right to error !
Children’s education
25 years at least !
Buying a house
30 years mortgage !
Hollidays that suit
everyone !
Every year !
Career management
Obstacle course
Hobbies
(Ours and children’s)

8.  The Q question
Why are they less
accountable at work
than they are in their
private life ?

9. Because usually, we
Plan
Check
Act…
…for them
And in the same time we want them to be
accountable, of course !

10.  The management model we all have to stop
• Employees just do !
• Managers plan !
• Managers check !
• Managers say what is there to
correct or to be improved !
Command and
control
management

11. Because usually, when we assess and recognise their
contributions we systematically focuse on results
WE FOCUSE ON « DO »
People are practical, most commonly, they invest their energy
on activities their own evaluation is based on
Building accountable teams implies inevitably to change the
way we assess and recognise people at work

12. So…what can we do ?
6tracks to build autonomous and
accountable teams

13. TRACK 1Extend the perimeter of
accountabilty

14. Track 1: extend the perimeter of accountabilty
• Extend, enlarge the perimeter of individual or
collective accountability on : Planning, Checking
and Acting espacialy on ACTING
• Clarify what you expect from your collaborators
on each dimension
• Train them, if necessary

15. TRACK 2Develop empowerment

16. Track 2 : what is empowerment ?
• If you want accountable teams you must provide them with
the power to decide the best way to reach goals
• This is Empowerment
• It means : decision making at the point where action is
realised
• It implies to deconcentrate the power to decide
• The power to decide implies a commitment to report on

17. Track 2-building empowerment : 4 main steps
1. Building foundations
2. Deconcentrating progressively the power to
decide
3. Fostering collective training and support
4. Developing «Self-controlling» procedures

18. 1-Build foundations
Clear vision
WHY
Accurate
expected
results
Alignment
on Vision
Power to
Decide
Comitment
to results
and to
report on
To be aware of and to understand their
environment’s stakes and needs (market,
clients, partners…) and the strategy of
their company
© Frédéric Botter

19. Clear vision
WHY
Accurate
expected
results
Alignment
on Vision
Power to
Decide
Comitment
to results
and to
report on
To be aware of and to understand their
environment’s stakes and needs (market,
clients, partners…) and the strategy of
their company
© Frédéric Botter
operationnal work priorities
most relevant work organisation. Process simplification
2-Deconcentrate progressively the power to decide
control and report procedures (what ? How ? When ?)
most relevant methods to correct/ameliorate
means to engage
best solutions in case of problem or conflict

20. partners to work with (purchasing)
competences to develop (individual and
collective ones. Which ones ? How ? When ?)
Co-elaborate services/actions with support
functions (What ? How ? When ?)
changes or innovations to initiate
Clear vision
WHY
Accurate
expected
results
Alignment
on Vision
Comitment
to results
and to
report on
Power to
Decide
2-Deconcentrate progessively the power to decide
© Frédéric Botter
To be aware of and to understand their
environment’s stakes and needs (market,
clients, partners…) and the strategy of
their company

21. Collective decisions making
New issues for teams training :
« collective intelligence »
Collective problems and conflicts solving
Communication and negociation
Clear vision
WHY
Accurate
expected
results
Alignment
on Vision
3-Collective training (and support) Vs individual training
Collective innovation and change leading
Comitment
to results
and to
report on
To be aware of and to understand their
environment’s stakes and needs (market,
clients, partners…) and the strategy of
their company
© Frédéric Botter

22. 22
• Being accountable means also : I’m
not waiting for somebody else to
control my work and results
• Train people to control and report by
themselves
• Educate people to present and speak
about their results and difficulties in
teams (not only during a personal
interview with their manager)
• Asset people on their « self-
controlling » capacities
4-develop « self-controlling procedures»
Are you waiting for
someone to check your
fridge before deciding to
go shopping ?

23.  Significant effects of empowerment on
teams…
• Speed : when decisions are made at the level where action
is realised, it usually boosts team’s reactivity.
• Simplicity : operational teams will build more simple
organisations and processes than experts will probably do.
They usually go straight to the goal !
• Motivation and level of commitment : pride and self-
recognition are more powerful than manager’s recognition..
• Well-being at workplace: more autonomy, more confidence

24. TRACK 3Develop a real result-oriented
culture

25. Track 3 : Develop a real result-oriented culture
Manager : «I want you to set up the new process for Daily
Quality Meeting in all the workshops in the plant »
Employee : 3 month after : «100% of workshops are using the
new process now, big deal but successful ! »
Manager : «Great and what about the quality indicators, are
they getting better ? »
Employee : « Well, I don’t know, this is the plant manager’s
problem, just ask him ! »
A short story that shows that we all
contribute to develop a
Culture of “means” and “best efforts”, rather
than a real result-oriented culture.
Comitment
to results
and to
report

26. What does this little story inspires you about accountability ?
1. Unconsciously, we all encourage people to be accountable
much more on “means” than on “results”
2. Obtaining results is a collective affair
3. In real life, accountability is always shared
4. We are all interdependant !
 Develop a real result-oriented culture

27.  3 levels of accountability
We are going to
deploy the new
procedure for daily
quality meetings
Qty
PM
1. Individual accountability. MY goals/success
2. Collective accountability. COLLECTIVE goals/success
3. Mutual accountability. OTHERS goals/success

28.  3 levels of accountability
We are going to
deploy the new
procedure for daily
quality meetings
Qty
PM
2 main consequences for managers : jumping from I to C
1. Jumping from Individual goals to Collective goals
2. Jumping from Individual recognition to Collective recognition
Better having non-heroic but solidary collaborators than heroic
and solitary collaborators

29. TRACK 4Encourage innovation and risk-
taking

30. Track 4 : encourage innovation and risk-taking
• How to work in a complex and uncertain world ?
• The two temptations when we are facing risks
Total Rationality
Total Intuition/Emotion
Prediction
Improvisation

31.  How to work in an uncertain world ?
• Rational long term predictions are no more reliable !
(who predicted Brexit in 2012 ?). Past is no more
predictive for the future.
• Searching to obtain the whole relevant and accurate
information, takes a lot of time and it changes very
rapidly
• Total intuitive/emotional way of acting is a «coin
flip » method
• No other way than Try and Test action method
(iterative and non-linear action methods) and Right to
fail.

32.  Why do people usually hesitates to take
risks at work ?
1. Personality
2. Usually we don’t ask them to do so because of the
pressure for fast results (innovation takes time !)
3. People have no right to error or failure. Error and
failure are still considered as faults. Take risks but
don’t fail !
4. Risk-taking is not valorised in the end. Only final
results !

33.  How do you see success ?
Michelin. TCT3. Séminaire 24/25/08

34.  7 conditions to develop risk-taking in teams
The right information about vision, strategy, priorities and
about the environment (market for example) in order to decide.
Knowledge and experience about the issue (what it is about ?)
Valorisation of risk-taking
Trust and « let go » from managers. Avoid micro-controlling
Right to fail and right to error
• Fail fast, learn fast and adjust !
• Try and test methods
Collective risk-taking (manager and team)
Support from the managers especially in case of failure. Try
again !
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
© Frédéric Botter
SCRUM

35. TRACK 5Develop Agility
Michelin. TCT3. Séminaire 24/25/08

36. Track 5 : develop agility
36
The roadmap
says « straight
on » !
What should I do
?
What does the
roadmap say ?
So why do you
ask me what to
do ?
The story of 2 Guys in a car

37. 37
Have you ever seen a project that have been achieved
exactly as it was planed (I mean in real life ?)
We usually think that being accountable means : follow
and respect the plan !
It encourages people to be more accountable for the
means (respect the process), than for the results of the
process (over-responsability)
To achieve the goals, in a moving, turbulent and
uncertain world, most of the time it is necessary to :
• Adapt
• Adjust
• Change
• Be agile
Adaptation, adjustement, change and agility are
also part of my accountability

38. TRACK 6Redefine manager’s role

39. Track 6 : redefine manager’s role
What-
for, why
How
What
Vision/ambition
Strategy/tactic
Action
MANAGER
TEAMS helped by
manager
Avoid micro-management,
Practice « letting go ».
Help people to increase their compétences,
Coach them.
TEAMS
© Frédéric Botter

40. 40
• As managers, we should spend more time to :
1. explain the goals (vision, priorities),
2. check that people are engaged on the vision and…
3. let people find and decide together the right
process and control tools to achieve them.
• It implies trusting their capability and help them to
develop new skills :
How can a manager or an expert, who meets clients twice a year, be more
relevant in its decisions, than a team dealing 1000 times a week with
clients ?
 redefine manager’s role

41.  The 4 new (and fantastic) skills for managers : 4C
COMMUNICATION CONFIDENCE
CREATION
COMPETENCES
DEVELOPING
COACHING
Michelin. TCT3. Séminaire 24/25/08© Frédéric Botter

42.  contact
Michelin. TCT3. Séminaire 24/25/08© Frédéric Botter
• frederic.botter@cinaps.com
• https://www.linkedin.com/feed/