The idea that real change leaders support accountability throughout the organisation is not new (Katzenbach, 1996), but there are still questions as to how well accountability is understood or implemented (Dopson and Fitzgerald, 2006). Put simply, accountability is being responsible for something, and in this paper we will argue that one of the impediments to change in the public sector is that leaders and managers do not realise what being accountable really means. As organisations get slimmer and flatter, many managers have wider spans of control for which they are responsible (Dopson and Stewart, 1990) and so this aspect of their work needs to be better understood. In this paper the argument will be made that although there is much discussion about the importance of accountability (Van Wart and Dicke, 2016; Wallis and Gregory, 2009), with much made of it as a core element of leadership in particular, in fact few leaders or managers really understand what the word means.
This paper uses a study on Australian Public Service middle managers to consider the role of accountability in change The qualitative approach permitted the collect of rich, descriptive data (Strauss and Corbin, 2008). Of particular interest was participant perception of accountability for implementing change. Data was collected from individual and group interviews. A stratified purposive sampling technique was adopted leading to an overall sample of 145 participants. Data was coded using open, axial and selective coding, with emergent patterns, themes and inter-relationships identified (Patton 1990).
The paper posits that one of the problems is that accountability is not seen as something that needs to be learnt. It is considered to be a structural component that can be described and allocated, rather an important part of the human resources management elements of change. In this paper we suggest that accountability is in fact, a capability that builds on skills such as delegations, empowerment, and performance management. The paper concludes that for there to be real change the leaders and managers need to see accountability in this way and actively manage its development.
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Katzenbach, J.R. (1996). New roads to job opportunity: From middle manager to real change leader. Strategy & Leadership, 24 (4): 32-35.
Patton, M.Q. (1990). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods (2nd ed.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Strauss, A.L. and Corbin, J. (2008). Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory (3rd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Van Wart, M. and Dicke, L. (2016) (eds.). Administrative leadership in the public sector. ASPA Classics Volume. New York: Routledge.
Wallis, J. and Gregory, R. (2009). Leadership, Accountability and Public Value: Resolving a Problem in “New Governance”? International Journal of Public Administration, 32(3-4): 250-273.
Organisational change and the organisation of public sector work
