Turn Your Organization Chart into an Accountability Chart™

As a business owner, you need the right structure and resources in place to use the EOS Process® and Tools. One of the first things a company will do when they start working with EOS® is make an Accountability Chart. “Easy peasy,” many say. “We already have an organization chart.” Errrr- wrong! We want to create an Accountability Chart, not an organization chart.

The Difference Between the Two

Most places with more than a handful of folks have some sort of org chart. This diagram basically just tells you the reporting structure (aka “where the proverbial buck stops”). Most charts just have a name and their associated title in each box. And they tend not to be very helpful. For example, I have no idea exactly what a “Vice President for Strategies and Special Projects” does. I assume they must be special, since their title says so. But what are they responsible for?

On the other hand, an Accountability Chart tells a nice little story about a company. Sure, they list the name and title, but they also explain who owns what business functions. The most basic structure usually has a Visionary, an Integrator, and then heads of finance, operations, sales and marketing. Each of those leaders has very specific items attached to their name with only one owner per function. Why? Because when everyone has responsibility for something, no one has responsibility for it.

Why Accountability Charts Work

Ever come out of a meeting with your leadership team that devolved into a schoolyard-style “NOT IT!” match? Without clear accountability, no one claimed responsibility for a project. And guess what? It never got done. You can’t blame someone for not knowing or that they owned it without a clear line to their name. You probably hear “I thought so-and-so was doing that” or “That’s not my job” a lot in those meetings.

While we could talk about how that would never happen in a Level 10 Meeting™, we’ll leave that for another day. Today, we have a bigger problem here that an Accountability Chart solves immediately.

When you have an Accountability Chart, leaders know exactly what you expect of them and their teams. They can’t wiggle out of a task because everyone can see on the chart that it belongs to them.

Right Seats

When the leadership team starts functioning like a group of capable adults, sometimes overlaps and holes start to show up. Things just ain’t working this way. Great! Now we talk about how we can fix that.

What works and what doesn’t? Does your Accountability Chart have the right seats for your leadership team to meet business goals? If not, what can we try instead?

Later, if you decide you absolutely must have that “Vice President for Strategies and Special Projects,” you go right ahead. But your Accountability Chart better explain what the position is responsible for to avoid the schoolyard “NOT IT!”