Accountability serves as the vital link connecting tasks to objectives and aligning individuals across an organization. It plays a crucial role in the product development process within, and without, Agile methodologies. Without accountability, organizations become a chaotic collection of random ideas and lack the ability and agility to progress toward their vision.
Traditionally accountability was framed in a linear and sequential environment (Waterfall Structure). “A” was accountable to “B”, and “B” was accountable to “C.” Within this Waterfall structure, accountability was easy to map on a RACI matrix, and project blockages could be simply identified and resolved.
Today many individuals work in an Agile structure and accountability is distributed among the entire cross-functional teams (i.e. Product Owners, Developers, and other stakeholders). Here, there is often no simple map of each team member’s activities. Because of this non-linear structure, a sanctions-based approach to generating accountability quickly devolves into a metaphorical murder mystery blame game, complete with plot twists and ambiguous evidence of, “who done it” or “who didn’t.”
In an Agile structure, it is often impractical to “hold” individuals accountable. Instead, a culture of accountability must be cultivated so that individuals choose to take accountability. Accountability is not a process or policy. It is a mindset, and when enough people share it, it becomes a culture.
By learning to foster the principles below, agile organizations can enjoy continuity of purpose and other benefits such as:
- Teamwide commitment to delivering value to the customer.
- A continuous improvement mindset in Agile.
- A culture of transparency and open communication.
- Team members making decisions that impact the product development process.
- Enhancing the team’s ability to adapt to changing requirements and market dynamics.
Regardless of the project development structure in your organization, a focus on the following five principles is an important first steps to creating a culture of accountability:
- Personal Choice For accountability:
Each individual must choose to take accountability. When we attempt to force accountability the employees’ goal will shift from achieving an objective to avoiding punishment. While there may be a place for discipline, we should not deceive ourselves into believing we are creating accountability.
- Empowerment as a Catalyst:
Empowerment is the fertile ground where accountability flourishes. To foster accountability, individuals must have the authority and autonomy to make changes to processes when they perceive them as inadequate for achieving objectives. Empowered employees feel a sense of ownership and are more likely to proactively contribute to the organization’s success.
- Psychological Safety:
There must be a safe space to get it wrong. Empowerment is not perfect. Accountability does not mean always achieving the objective. It does mean being able to ask for help early and often. When individuals and team members cannot ask for help, they are more inclined to hide suboptimal results.
- Accountability is curious:
At the core of accountability is the question, “Are our current processes the best way to achieve our objectives?” It is the curiosity in accountability that leads to the innovations that accomplish our overarching goals.
- Intrinsic Rewards:
Accountability is inherently rewarding when individuals can see the impact of their work and feel a sense of pride in their contributions. While external reward systems can have their place, a focus on meaningful work and recognizing the value individuals bring can create a stronger foundation for intrinsic motivation. Individuals want to know that their efforts matter and make a difference.
Fostering a culture of accountability requires a shift in mindset and the implementation of key principles. Agile teams will be better equipped to deliver high-quality products that meet customer expectations while maximizing value and fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence.
By emphasizing personal choice, empowerment, psychological safety, curiosity, and intrinsic rewards, organizations can create an environment where accountability becomes a natural part of the organizational DNA. This culture of accountability aligns individuals with organizational objectives, promotes continuous improvement, and fuels value delivery to the customer.
If you are ready to embark on the journey of developing accountability best practices in an agile context, we encourage you to explore the specialized courses on www.7sparx.com which are offered by 7sparx consulting training team. These courses provide practical tools, strategies, and personalized guidance tailored to help you unlock your true potential and thrive in the agile landscape.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column]
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Farrah is global training and organizational development consultant with over 20 years of experience in learning and development industry. Farrah is highly experienced in developing world class training and learning programs coupled with extensive expertise in leadership and organizational management, and executive coaching.
Besides being a SAFe® Program Consultant, Farrah holds multiple industry certifications including certifications in International Teaching & Training, Leadership, Business Management, Leadership, and Instructional Design. Farrah is a skilled and passionate facilitator both in remote and in-person training environment. She is multilingual in English, French & Arabic.
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As an Agile Coach SPC4, an Agile ScrumMaster, an ICAgile Certified Professional and a Innovation Games Certified Orange Belt Collaboration Architect, I specialize in helping people in different roles work better together. I want to help teams work faster and be better at responding to change whether they are remote/distributed or local. The ideal Agile Coach or ScrumMaster ( Scrum Master ) is described by many adjectives – especially Teacher, Mentor, Facilitator and Servant-Leader. I have used distributed tools to aid me in working with remote team members. My career and volunteer jobs have gone beyond teaching to forge these critical attributes into my personality so that I can help you build an all-star team.
I have a strong background with working with people in different roles. I am a lifelong learner. I have a broad network of contacts. I love networking.
Harsha is Scaled Agile Consultant and Enterprise Agile Coach with a tremendous passion to train and guide individual, teams and enterprises on Agile transformation. Harsha Kondapalli is a SPC – “SAFe Program Consultant” (SAFe SPC) for Lean Enterprises with extensive knowledge and experience.
Harsha has been consulting for several enterprise customers including but not limited to Google, Apple, Citigroup, TIAA, Florida Blue and BMS. He has played multiple roles that include Enterprise Agile Coach and Release Train Engineer (RTE) for Product Development Initiatives.
An agile enthusiast and evangelist with over 15 years in the Project Management field, Harsha has worked passionately to encourage and support the Organizations in fully embracing Agile methodologies for all his clients.
Harsha is a certified yoga teacher with 500 hours of teacher training, he Sia. fitness enthusiast and an ardent Indian classical music admirer. He also has a Master’s Degree in Engineering specialized in aerospace industry.
Jonathan has 20 years of agile experience leading geographically diverse teams as a Scrum Master, Product Owner, Product Manager, Systems Architect and Release Train Engineer in the Fintech space. He specialized in Web Portals, eBanking and IAM (Identity and Access Management). Jonathan has been instrumental in leading successful SAFe Agile transformations. With a background in developing eCommerce websites as a Java and .Net developer he brings a wide perspective and breadth of knowledge to the classroom and his consulting work.Certification
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Leslie was trained by the author of Cucumber and has been teaching and coaching Specification by Example/BDD for almost ten years. He has introduced the methodology to teams at multiple companies, including Verizon, General Motors, and Raytheon Technologies.He loves teaching and coaching Business Analysts, Product Owners, Developers, and QAs in Specification by Example/BDD; He loves the tremendous improvements it can bring to the entire organization. He strongly believes that when we are able to write better requirements, we write better code (and fewer bugs), find and fix bugs faster, and deliver better quality code faster, then we feel an enormous sense of accomplishment.
Specialties: Software QA, Software Quality Assurance, Test Strategy, Process Change, Process Transformation, Hardware Test, Linux, QA Manager, Cucumber, BDD, TDD, ATDD, Agile, Selenium, Test Automation, Python, Java, ML/AI, Deep Learning for software test
Stephen is an accomplished Human Resources consultant with more than 20 years of experience in learning and development, onboarding, employee engagement, people and performance management and many other HR disciplines. Much of Stephen’s career has been in hospitality.He started as a customer service agent and quickly moved into the learning and development world. In his role he opened new service centers in places like Guangzhou China and Cork Ireland. He supported properties with very low engagement and was able to help them become the highest engaged in the region. His final position in hospitality was as a regional learning manager for the Americas region for Hilton Worldwide.
As an independent consultant Stephen now enjoys working with organizations around the globe and across multiple disciplines. He currently provides coaching and training to newly minted leaders as well as C-Suite executives. He loves helping organizations find the key to successful remote, hybrid or in person Teams. Stephen is fluent in Spanish and enjoys opportunities to provide multilingual training Whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Since 2013 Stephen has held the Senior Professional of Human Resources certification or SPHR. He was one of 19 contributors who helped right the first edition of A Guide to the Human Resources Body of Knowledge or (HRBok) Published by the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI).
Viki has dedicated more than 25 years of her career to professional training. She delivers excellent standards of soft skills classroom training, but it is her in-depth knowledge of customer service and business management that allows Viki to provide an exceptionally high level of learning facilitation and consultancy across a wide range of industries.Prior to becoming an independent consultant, she was employed by DHL, one of the largest courier companies in the world. During her 15 years of service, she worked in the areas of customer service, human resources and training and development, acquiring subject matter expertise across a number of disciplines.
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Viki is British and currently lives in Irvine, Southern California with her husband and daughter. She is a self-confessed lifelong learner with a passion for helping others experience “light bulb moments” and achieve their own goals.
