Business
Who is holding the ball? – A key question for any entrepreneur wanting to improve their business
Right across Australia now there are all sorts of sporting finals occurring. Of course, these moments produce incredible images of ecstasy for the winners and incredible pain for those that loose, a bit like business really. Platitudes and accolades will be showered on the winners and when spoken about there will be references about hard work and a disciplined approach. Let’s assume you have the hard work aspect covered. Another key component to any success whether in sport or business is accountability. So, the question for you, as an entrepreneur, is are you sure you know who has what accountability across your business? One of the easiest ways to work this out for yourself and your team is asking – who is holding the ball?
Before we answer that question let’s think about why accountability is so important for business success and then how you can construct accountability. A recent study by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) identified that about 50% of business that go into administration do so because of poor strategic management. Strategic management is a fancy term for making sure, from time to time, you are working on the business rather than it. What this translates to for you as an entrepreneur, in terms of accountability, is to make sure you are clear what you want people to do. Even if there is only a couple of you in the business, you don’t want to fall into the trap of ‘I thought you were doing it’.
I suspect you may be thinking that the answer to this question is to build an organisation chart, well, not quite. Professor Bob Behn from Harvard, who I had the fortune to study with, has a great quote about organisational charts:
‘The org chart is a fiction – an attractive fiction but misleading fiction. It suggests that the organization functions through formal orders, carried out by methodical functionaries while concealing the relationships that create the ability to produce real results.’
Instead of building a traditional organisational chart consider what Gino Wickman, in his book ‘Traction’, calls an accountability chart[ii]. Rather than focussing on titles and people, work out what are the functional areas you need in your organisation and then work out what they should be accountable for delivering. There should only be about five accountabilities for each area. For example, the marketing function accountabilities may look like this:
Marketing
- Lead generation
- Digital Presence
- Brand Management
- Develop/execute marketing plan
- Marketing processes
Then drill down through the various accountabilities listed under the marketing function until you have captured all the layers for individual business units within that function. If your organisation is that large keep the accountability chart at a high level. Don’t list people or titles yet, just the functions and what that function delivers. The outcome will be a chart, like the one below, that clarifies function, in line with the stated purpose of the business. (if you have not stated the purpose of your business then there needs to other conversations in the business – not for today’s article).
You then slot employees against those functional areas in accordance with their skill and ability to do the job. For example, in the diagram above you will have one person accountable for finance and all the things listed under it. Then your people can see what they are accountable for delivering and what they are doing to support the business.
Now that each area knows what it is meant to be delivering and people are in relevant and meaningful roles, conversations with your team can have greater purpose. Additionally, those conversation revolve around the five clear accountabilities. The smoke and haze of what they are meant to achieve is removed. Importantly, employees are not required to remember all those detailed documents prepared to try an explain your business but rather just five key accountabilities.
It is key to remember the power of the accountability chart lies in the development of the accountabilities themselves. These accountabilities should form the foundation of conversations and other communications with your team. It is not something you build and stick on a wall or a web page and expect everyone to get it or refer to it. It is about using the content and asking – who’s holding the ball? When people have clarity about what they are responsible for they develop focus. That focus quickly turns to the precise application of effort which provides opportunities to get things done and in due course you won’t have to ask because everyone will know who is holding the ball.
Murray Smith is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a centre of excellence for innovation and entrepreneurship. Murray also holds other postgraduate and undergraduate qualifications from RMIT University in Melbourne. He has attended an executive program for senior executives at Harvard University and is a Professional EOS Implementer™. Murray works with businesses across Australia to improve their performance.
www.linkedin.com/in/murraydsmith
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