REWARD AND ACCOUNTABILITY

I was in a mentoring/coaching panel a few months ago for a bunch of social venture founders. 

One panelist mentor confused accountability, responsibility, and rewards.

He believed, that accountability can't be shared and delegated, hence, the rewards and success of the startup should be given to those who are accountable.

Fair enough.

But we are talking here about accountability in relation to delegation.

The staff is delegated responsibilities suited for his/her role. He/she took it on gladly and did a wonderful job!

Who is accountable? Who is responsible? Who gets the reward?

There are two things here for which a lot of people confuse it: strategy and overall direction of the organization and the operational areas where these strategies are implemented.

The overall success or failure of the organization lies with the founders and some extent those who are hired to manage it. This is a high-risk career path. 

The successes at the operational levels accrue to those that worked hard for it.

Don't confuse the two. 

But if you're the founder/CEO/all-around designer/marketer/app developer for your startup, I get the feeling of owning that success 100%. You do all the work. 

But if you're the CEO and you have remarkable staff who are just phenomenal in what they do, give due credit where credit is due. Hold them responsible and accountable. 

Take these distinctions carefully and your people will love you more, will stick with you even in the worst times, which are plentiful in the startup statistics.