top of page

Accountability Without Empowerment: A Hidden Strategy Execution Risk

© Benjamin B. Dunford, Ph.D.

Have you ever been held responsible for results without the autonomy to shape them?

 

If so, you’re not alone—and the fallout may have far more strategic ramifications than most leaders realize.


Accountability outpacing empowerment in
Silicon Valley

 

In 2000, I consulted for a Bay Area optical networking startup that was acquired by a telecom giant for over $3 billion. Pre-acquisition, the startup thrived on a culture of accountability paired with empowerment. Engineers made key technical decisions, aligned with a strategy of innovation and speed.

 

Post-acquisition, that balance was broken. The engineers were still accountable—but now reported to a leader with a command-and-control style. They were micromanaged, stripped of influence over technical decisions, yet expected to deliver.

 

Within months, morale tanked. Talent fled. The startup’s value evaporated. The acquisition failed. The parent company went bankrupt. Why? In my opinion the root case was that accountability increased in the absence of empowerment.



Data That Backs It Up

 

This isn’t just anecdotal. In a study of 765 employees in a U.S. healthcare system, I analyzed data to understand how accountability and empowerment interact to shape strategic alignment. This study was based on Likert scale measures of accountability (on a 1 = low to 5 = high scale), empowerment (median split) and strategy alignment (on a 1 = low to 10 = high scale).

 

Using polynomial regression
analysis I found that:

 

  • When empowerment is low, accountability acts like a traditional inverted U shaped stressor. Very high or very low accountability leads to worse perceptions of culture-strategy alignment. 

  • Yet when empowerment is high, accountability becomes a performance driver. More accountability leads to stronger cultural and strategic alignment.

 

(Figure 1: Empowerment moderates the relationship between accountability and perceived culture-strategy fit.)


Accountability without control is organizational quicksand.
It leads to:

  • Anger

  • Burnout 

  • Loss of key talent

  • Strategy-culture misalignment 

  • Poor execution


Think of accountability and control as the two towers of a suspension bridge. Without both, the system collapses under its own weight.



Bottom Line for Leaders

So…every time you assign responsibility to someone else holding them accountable for performance, ask yourself:

 

"Does this person feel empowered to shape the outcome?"

 

If not, boost their autonomy to a level that matches their accountability.  Your organization’s strategy execution may hinge on it!



Find out more about what I can offer you:

With 20 years of experience I deliver authoritative leadership guidance at the highest levels of customization and practical application.


Let’s collaborate. 

 
 
 

Comments

bottom of page