The word “accountability” is everywhere these days. Bankers and accountants require it, as do the IRD and the kids even! But what is it really and how can it help us to strengthen our farm businesses to provide results we can be consistently proud of?
I mention “strength of our business” because with accountability comes strength. It is a driver of business strength. Here are a few points to think about, work through and take action on:
What is accountability? Dictionaries say that accountable means
Accountability therefore, is the ability to be responsible for answering / explaining / justifying decisions made and bearing the consequences of the outcomes.
What drives accountability? It is interchangeable with greater responsibility. Positions of leadership always involve greater responsibility and therefore it applies directly to farm business owners. Who are you accountable to? Read on.
Accountability is also driven by the requirement to deliver results. Organised effort usually needs organisation, capital and other people to contribute to that effort for some desired outcome. The result must be worthy of the effort invested and so it must be achieved. To focus the effort and deliver the result, we need people to be accountable to that result. If not we head off on tangents, waste efforts and recklessly disregard others – certain failure!
Why is accountability important? – It is about delivering consistent results. As life becomes faster-paced, accountability becomes more important otherwise we will get into trouble pretty quickly, business and personal wise.
Successful human relations (and therefore mutual opportunities) rely on trust and dependability. If we can’t be trusted due lack of accountability and not sticking to our word, we will be left with few options as the wheel of opportunity rolls right on past us to someone else.
Who are we accountable to? In farming, we are firstly accountable to ourselves. To live with ourselves we must be accountable to what is most important to us. Continual short changing of ourselves and going against our own true ethics usually leads to blind acceptance of our situation and constant internal struggle. This promotes ever-increasing health, life, business, relational and personal issues e.g. underfeeding stock leads to negative profits and potential animal welfare issues. Continually reneging on appointments or agreed stock deals leads to low trust and lack of access to opportunities, the best people and the best minds.
You are accountable to your spouse or partner (if you have one). Those closest to us feel loved / valued / appreciated when they 100% know that they and their desires are accounted for. You are accountable to your kids and other family members, in fact anyone who relies or depends on you. You are accountable to anyone you lead or work with e.g. your farm workers will give you their all if they know you are doing everything you can do help them do their job well and to deliver a great business result so they get paid and feel valued. If not, your leadership will not endure. Yes, leadership is tough but done well it is an incredibly rewarding position to be in. Accountability is just a requirement.
What does accountability require? – It requires discipline, humility, propensity for action, self-confidence and planning among other attributes. The way to develop these is to study them and implement them in your life. Ask questions of those who have these attributes. Read books about these traits and listen to others via audio programmes or seminars about how they developed them. If you need these attributes but are not willing to develop them, you will not hold your position of responsibility for very long – your business results or life will call you to account one way or another. If you do develop these attributes you will automatically strengthen your accountability and improve your results and opportunities. So, in the end you can’t actually escape accountability!
In next month's GrowFARM Connector, look out for the article on the intricacies of strengthening your farm business through accountability.