Accountability Empowers Scalability

One major component when scaling a business is people. Getting the right people in the right roles is crucial to effective accountability and successful growth. But how do you know who is right for what role, or even what positions your company needs to grow? It all starts with a structure designed to enable accountability. 

In addition to structure, organizations must establish a deliberate culture, more specifically their core values must be genuine and meaningful (read this HBR article on core values). Then, they must hire people who are a suitable culture fit. Yes, talent and skills are important, but if team members are not aligned with the culture and values that matter they will not be beneficial to the vision in the long run. 

When entrepreneurs and small businesses try to grow by simply using who they already have on board, employing friends and family, or settling for lesser talent because it is what they can afford - they are not setting themselves up for success. Mostly because they are not getting the “right people on the bus” as Jim Collins made clear is imperative to being a great company.

Gino Wickman tells us in Traction about “right people, right seat” and it all begins with what he calls the “accountability chart TM”. This is pretty much just a standard organization chart, but the key is to focus on the structure first to create the right seats within the company - then fill the seats with the right people. Rather than building a structure around the people you already have. 

In order to get the right people on board Wickman suggest using his “people analyzer TM” to determine whether candidates are a good fit, for both the culture and the responsibilities of the role. This simple tool is a scorecard that provides a straightforward picture as to whether or not a person is in line with core values, and if they “GWC” the position - do they Get it, Want it, & have the Capacity to do it (GWC). 

Whatever tools you use to analyze and qualify personnel, the key is accountability - which comes from a hierarchical structure that is in alignment with both culture and functions. When designing structure, flat organizations do not really work in this regard because if two people are responsible for something then no one person is accountable. 

It is essential that only one person be held accountable for each major function within the organization. Of course, as companies grow there may be more than one person doing a job, such as sales, but the leadership team must be clearly defined where only one leader is responsible for all sales functions, and so forth down the line (chart). 

Once an organization has the right team and the right structure they can scale their business and achieve sustainable growth through accountability. Because, when you hire the right people they typically will hold themselves accountable, especially when you’ve provided clear expectations and structure. Of course, this also stipulates the ability to hold everyone liable as needed.  

Proper structural and cultural alignment enables effective, efficient, and scalable operations that facilitate growth. The clarity and continuity provided by the accountability chart keeps everyone on the same page enabling company wide focus on strategic objectives. Furthermore, as the company grows, the chart and team are scalable too because the structure and expectations are clearly defined.