The Accountable Leader: Developing Effective Leadership Through Managerial Accountability

by Brian Dive

Organizational structures are ineffective when they do not delineate and define accountabilities.  Brian Dive focuses upon the implications of clear accountability for leadership, with an in-depth analysis of “distributed leadership” – a concept neglected in the leadership literature to date.

 

Dive explores the relationship between leadership, accountability and organizational structure.  He argues that the majority of leadership-related problems arise not from ineffective individuals but from organizational structures that lack accountable jobs.  In a Decision Making Accountability Solution Set, he outlines the key principles of accountability.  By implementing the principles an organization can improve the performance of its managerial staff at all levels.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2008

Reviews

[Hannah Barta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe this book would have something good for someone working in a purely corporate field, but it was overly general, harped on the same things over and over--"You have too many managers in the system if your span is under six"--and unrelated to what I'm doing.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dive's stated objective is to explain how to develop effective leadership through managerial accountability. He achieves that objective by providing a cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective process based on a combination of extensive research and his own direct experiences with all manner of organizations. To his credit, throughout his lively narrative, after identifying the most important "what," he devotes most of his attention to suggesting "how." Presumably he agrees with me that it would be a fool's errand to attempt to adopt all of his specific suggestions. It remains for each reader to select from the abundance of Dive's material whatever is most relevant to the needs, objectives, and resources of his or her own organization. I presume to share two caveats. First, make absolutely certain what the ultimate and (key word) specific objectives are and then focus only on what is most important to achieving them. I agree with Peter Drucker: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all." Also, "make haste slowly" when establishing a rock-solid foundation for initiatives. It is better, far better to take two steps forward and one step back than vice versa. That said, expect mistakes to be made and view each as a valuable learning opportunity.

For an organization to become and then remain a leader in its competitive marketplace, it must have leadership top to bottom, collaborating productively in a "culture of candor" in which everyone is actively and positively engaged. Dive does not have all the right answers but he asks most of the right questions. The knowledge and wisdom he provides in this book can guide and inform what is certain to be a perilous journey at a time when change is the only constant. He would be an excellent travel agent and tour guide. Bon voyage!

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical approach to letting your leaders lead

Take the most capable, brilliant, hard-working managers you can find. Put them in a flawed organizational scheme, where individuals have no real accountability. The end result: failure for the managers and the organization. Management consultant Brian Dive contends that many companies fail to devise organizational structures that make executives and managers fully accountable for their decisions and actions, or that tie their performance to specific goals. Dive says such firms become inflated and bureaucratic. They end up rewarding people on the basis of arbitrary criteria that have little or nothing to do with their objectives. Dive claims that leadership requires real accountability, which in turn requires sound organizational design. Having posited this necessity, he then tells you how to analyze your management structure. getAbstract recommends his practical approach to developing a framework that lets your leaders lead.