The virtue of accountability in top company executives

Top executives make decisions every day that affect their companies' vitality. Does that statement sound familiar? Yes, if it is used to justify why chief executives get big pay cheques and why we should pay special attention to leaders.

However, if their firms get bumped, executives may claim it was a tough economic situation and they tried their best. While there surely must be some things out of their control, it is clear the human race does not lack excuses and attribution biases. If the result is fantastic, we take all the credit ourselves even if we have not done anything meaningful; if things fail, we blame bad luck. In other words, "tails I win, heads it's chance".

And so it is perhaps understandable that some of the most influential and high-status people, such as chief executives of large companies, often themselves display such behaviour. However, should we not expect more from our leaders?

Each of us might have a wish list of what good leaders should have - vision, determination, inspiration, humanity, etc. One essential element, to me, is their accountability. Executives should be accountable for their positions and actions.

We know that when an organisation gets bigger and bigger, it will develop certain rules and structures that help it operate routinely. In other words, matured organisations are resilient and able to survive for a long period, even if a monkey is put in charge.

In one extreme example, in the last two decades of his reign (to 1620), emperor Wanli of the Ming dynasty did not attend a single morning meeting with his ministers, act on any memoranda or make any personnel appointments. It is typical of the inaction that can be seen when an entrenched leader has the discretion to lead a quiet life.

Therefore, executives first need to be accountable for their positions and opt for action when opportunities or threats arise. The situation may be difficult, the decision may be hard and sometimes executives may bet their reputation on those decisions. But that is exactly why we call them leaders.