Who is accountable?

You are!

I was reading this Alan Dayley post on LinkedIn, but what caught my eye was the following comment stream—

Huy Nguyen

The Buck has to stop somewhere, doesn’t it?

I have been thinking that one of the key faults of Agile Coaching is the lack of accountability.

Alan Dayley

I have similar thoughts. I also have quandaries about coach accountability. An analogous example: If I refuse to do the coached workouts and diet changes, is my fitness training coach accountable for my lack of fitness?

What is an Agile Coach accountable for? Can an Agile Coach succeed even if the organization doesn’t change?

Huy Nguyen

Alan Dayley in a way yes, they are accountable to their own results. A client that doesn’t take the coaching regimen provided will soon reject the coach and said coach will be out of another client. Coach has to be self-accountable to creating programs a client is willing to adopt. Otherwise, they’re not actually coaching, are they?

You can know more and even have more talent as a coach but if you can’t incur growth, you shouldn’t be in the role. Period.

If you don’t force yourself out the client will marginalize you until you’re no longer employed by them.

Oluf Nissen

Accountability without authority? No thanks.

Huy Nguyen

Oluf Nissen Let me ask then. Do you have authority now?

There is always accountability. It’s the basis by which you get paid. If you don’t deliver on whatever accountability that is, you will likely be out of a job.

And if you’re not accountable for something in a business, then you must be clearly defining and delivering on your own targets. You hold your own accountability. Why else would you get paid?

Oluf Nissen

Huy Nguyen I don't have authority to make decisions about the things that would need to change to get better outcomes, so holding me accountable for better outcomes is a no.

Huy Nguyen

Oluf Nissen Are you creating better outcomes? What if you didn’t and just sat on your duff all day.

Oluf Nissen and by the way your lack of authority as a requirement to create better outcomes smells like a limiting belief to me. Depends on the type of outcome.

Oluf Nissen

Huy Nguyen I'm trying to create better outcomes in a system that does its best to stay the way it is.

Huy Nguyen That's very possible. Do you have the authority you need to be held accountable for what you're being asked for? If so, lucky you.

Huy Nguyen

Oluf Nissen yes, I do. I even request it. We have job responsibilities (most orgs outline them in JDs) for each role including mine. I have accountabilities to do training, coaching, supporting delivery. It's unstated but i have authority to coach teams and agile staff. With other authority I request it - this is usually in doing product coaching or coaching leaders/individuals.

To me the rubric by which my accountability is held is also one by which I am rewarded through bonuses and what not. If that rubric isn't there, then I will request we create one.

A simple one is even a working agreement that I need to abide by. I set expectations for myself and share them with my managers and stakeholders so it's clear what i'm doing for them. To me, this is the way.

So there is a baseline explicit set of accountabilities/responsibilities. Others are contextual that I verbalize with those I coach and support. And if I do my job well, they generally sing my praises.

Oluf Nissen I'm thinking that Fernando Flores book "Conversations for Action" might be good for you to check out. Social contracts are everything.

 Oluf Nissen

Huy Nguyen That's very heartening to hear. I wish I had figured out how to make that happen.

Huy Nguyen

Oluf Nissen well now you know how to do it. I would come up with a list of accountabilities that you think is fair for yourself, share with others and that can begin the basis for which you outline accountability and the authority you need to do those jobs.

With my internal clients, I share with them what my goals with them are and then that begins a process of additional personal accountability and foundation of trust for a working relationship. I wish all those fancy agile certs would just teach these basics instead of getting into more lofty topics.

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Who’s right?

I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle, probably toward Huy’s thinking.

You'll eventually be fired if you’re an Agile Coach and have no accountability for the results. Why? Because you’re too far removed from the arena.

You will fail if you’re an Agile Coach and have all the accountability for the results. Why? Because you’re in the arena but unaware of the other players.

Somehow, you must balance the two. Let’s call it—

• Self-accountability

• Co-active accountability

• Shared accountability

Coaches often shy away from accountability because they lack the skills to navigate the system or sufficient domain experience to step into it and add value. It seems far safer to coach from the sidelines.

Huy has achieved this balance in his current context and generously shares the how with Oluf.

Privilege

That said, I do wish Huy would acknowledge his privilege.

He’s worked at Delta Dental for about three years (from LinkedIn). His advice works clearly in that context. But it’s based on his experience and the unique context he’s sitting in.

In my Agile Coaching journey, I've learned to be more aware of my privilege.

Wrapping Up

Learning to navigate this balance successfully is one of the hallmarks of a Badass Agile Coach. One of the measures of their Badassery, perhaps the only measure, is—

Are they experienced in the technical and business domain, are the accountable, do they have skin-in-the-game, and are they in the arena delivering value.

Many thanks to Alan for initiating and Huy and Oluf for engaging in such a rich dialogue.

Stay agile and accountable, my friends,

Bob.

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