Did you happen to see the recent story about how American Airlines humiliated a passenger by informing her that she would not be able to fly unless she covered up her strapless outfit? It was really a story about an accountability problem. Dr. Tisha Rowe, who was wearing a perfectly appropriate summer romper, was told, in front of her son, “You are not getting on the plane dressed like that.” She donned a blanket in
One of the traps we sometimes fall into as leaders is imagining that we are not dependent on anyone else. We convince ourselves that we alone are capable of securing the outcomes that lead to whatever we define as “success.” We may even convince ourselves that we as individuals are more indispensable than anyone else on the team…and that we, therefore, matter more than the team matters. In reality, the team comes first! All human
KPMG is one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, a global audit, tax, and advisory network of service firms that has made big news in recent years for a slew of controversies about serious ethics lapses. Such controversies are problematic in any industry, but they are particularly troubling in the world of high-profile accounting. Why? Because an unshakeable commitment to ethics, impartiality, and high professional standards is the true “product” KPMG sells its clients and
I work with a lot of senior corporate leaders. One of the things I notice is that some of them are a little confused about the concept of corporate values. They often talk about personal and corporate values in the abstract, almost as hypothetical behaviors attitudes, as though their personal and corporate values were some far-off destination they were hoping, someday, to reach. They may say they have values in different categories, one of which
When an anti-Semitic gunman opened fire recently in a San Diego synagogue, a member of the congregation, Lori Gilbert Kaye, chose in a split second to leap between the shooter and the rabbi. She lost her life…but the rabbi believes that by taking the action she did, she also saved his. This act was, I believe, a teaching moment for the world, a moment of profound accountability to the commitment that I call “It’s all of
Last month, I wrote about how New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern stepped up and showed the entire world what accountable leadership looks like in the face of a crisis. This month, in the face of another crisis, I have a much sadder story to tell. As you may remember, Ardern not only vowed protection of Muslim refugees following the horrific mosque attacks in Christchurch, but she also made a point of visiting personally with
Recently, a family from New Zealand booked a home for a vacation in Ireland using Airbnb, the popular online peer-to-peer property rental service. When the family showed up at the property, however, they got an unpleasant surprise. They discovered that the owner of the house had set up a live video feed by means of a concealed camera. Believe it or not, that wasn’t the biggest problem that showed up in this story. The biggest
It’s likely that, before this week, you hadn’t heard of the Reimann family if you lived outside of Germany. And it seems likely, too, that that’s exactly how the Reimann family wanted it. Which is, if true, a major failure of accountability. There is a total lack of accountable leadership in the Reimann family. You almost certainly have heard of the consumer brands owned by the Reimann family. They include Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Panera Bread,
Two of the critical commitments accountable leaders make are “It’s all of us” and “We stand together when all hell breaks loose.” Accountability is born in those commitments. After the horrific massacres last week at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 50 people lost their lives, the world got a chance to see accountability in action. New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, sent both messages. She quickly responded to the terrorist violence with
The other day, I was reading an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about one of the St. Louis Cardinals’ hottest prospects for 2019, a young Canadian outfielder by the name of Tyler O’Neill who made his debut last year. A quote from this young man near the end of the article really jumped out at me, because it pointed directly toward some foundation concepts that support accountable leadership. O’Neill said: “I’m always getting closer
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