Accountability Central, a website devoted to tracking business stories about accountability picked up an article from today’s Investor’s Business Daily.

Accountability Central: BE HONEST AND DEPENDABLE; TAKE RESPONSIBILITY Put Trust In Your People

The included tips are generally well-known:

• empower your people
• trust your people
  
• push responsibility down (hmmm, as in “wouldn’t want to accept it up here!?!?” gonna have to think about that one.)
• act decisively
• be transparent
• let them know where you stand
• etc.

Missing for me are two important points:

1. Understand how personal responsibility works in the mind so you know true responsibility when you see it, know how to demonstrate it, and how to create a culture of responsibility leadership at all levels. Research shows that responsibility is not just a character trait (or flaw) but a mental process that can be studied, taught, and developed in any individual, team, or culture. Research also shows that “leaders” in high positions often model relatively irresponsible behavior, i.e., avoid taking responsibility themselves.
2. Develop a Responsibility Practice (according to this research on the Responsibility Process) at the most senior levels of leadership so that you generate a culture of responsible leadership. Field research shows that no level of an organization will demonstrate higher levels of ownership than the levels above them. Think about it.

What do you think?