Organization 21C: Someday All Organizations Will Lead This Way

One-Sided Accountability

The organization chart formalizes the chain of accountabilities people expect in an organization large enough to require hierarchy. The first-order accountability is to hold people with functional and jurisdictional decision-making authority, known as bosses, accountable for getting beneficial results from the individuals and units who report to them. The second order is to hold individuals with specific responsibilities and assignments, known as subordinates, accountable for high-quality functioning and contribution. In both instances the chart should provide a straightforward representation of responsibilities and authorities, with the goal to identify productive and unproductive units and contributors. There's also ...