In literal terms, accountability means being responsible and accountable for something or someone. So talking about CEO accountability, it means the CEO is taking the responsibility of things, process, and people in his organization. A CEO in an organization is always engaged by the board of directors. The board delegates the responsibility and authority to the CEO so that he can allocate the resources to accomplish the specific objectives of an organization. But the problem occurs when the accountability tends to falter from the CEO down through the rest of the organization.
Legal Framework
While accountability is deep-rooted in the legal framework of an organization, the board of directors take the baton in the hands to delegates responsibilities. The board makes the plans and strategies, but who is responsible to implement those – it is the CEO. A CEO is accountable in ensuring that all the strategies approved by the board members are implemented. That said, CEO has a complex array of deliverables for which he can be held accountable.
Understanding the framework of accountability and authority
One of the primary objectives of a CEO is to ensure that the right framework of accountability and authority is in place throughout the organization. Similarly, the board cannot implement the strategy, only the CEO can delegate the responsibilities in the staff and make the plans work well. The staff of the organization also needs to work according to a set framework.
Vertical Alignment
This happens according to the design of an organization. It starts with the vertical alignment of positions throughout the organization. It helps in creating mechanisms for doing work. Here is a brief overview of a hierarchy.
Who reports to whom – delegation of accountability and authority
What are people accountable for producing – the perfect delegation of right-sized objectives cascading throughout the organization.
How are decisions made – it involves the articulation of the explicit context and boundaries for decision-making.
Are the right support in place – proper support and delegation of resources for doing the work.
What is cross-functional accountability?
A talented CEO crafts a complex web with a chain of accountability that flows down through the hierarchy of an organization. Cross-functional accountability means the accountability and authority also spreads across the organization. Here the employees know how to work with people who aren’t their managers or individuals who report to them. These employees can be colleagues from different departments. This clarity is important because managers know how to work in an organization and who is accountable for what.
Governance accountability is an important aspect which every CEO must be aware of. To learn more about such concepts in detail, reach out to us. Our team will be glad to assist you.
Author’s Bio:
Brody Lukas is the author of this website and writes articles for a long time. To know more about risk governance please visit the website.
