After reading the owner of the Houston Astros recent response that he does not believe he should be held accountable for the cheating that his team was found to have participated in, I thought an article was required. At first, I thought that I would just create a list of all of the times that a leader is not accountable. The only problem with that is that the article would end at that point.
You see, there is never a time when a leader is not accountable. That is the whole part of being a leader. You are responsible for the success of the people you lead. You are responsible for the character of your organization. You are always accountable.
When the owner of the Astros, Jim Crane, denies all accountability he is, in effect, denying his leadership responsibility. It makes me wonder, did he know what was going on, did he simply just look the other way? What you allow in your space you condone.
So, from my vantage point, Crane either was part of the cheating that contributed to the Astros winning a World Series Championship, or he covets the championship trophy so much that he does not care what happened while he was not looking.
Do you want to work for a leader like that? I surely do not. What would it look like if, assuming that Crane did not know about the cheating, he stood up and said, “We cheated. That had to play a part in our winning those close games and those close series. We are better than that. We will vacate our championship and, moving forward, we will double down on our efforts to win without any form of cheating.”?
That is a leader I want to be associated with. That is a leader who inspires me to be my best. That is a leader that I am willing to bust my butt for in an effort to win!
Until we stop letting our leaders, in business, community, or government, get away with lying, cheating, or stealing our dignity, they will continue to do so. Until we are willing to move past only worrying about our profits, our political party, and our personal gain we will not create an environment, a culture, where accountability is prioritized and inspired in everyone. It is time to stand up and say, “I am accountable, and I expect my leaders to be accountable also.” It is time to say, “I live by a set of values, a high standard, and I want to work for, be led by, and associate with others who also live by that high standard.” Be accountable!
