The Silent Killer of Nonprofit Success – Lack of Accountability

Accountability ensures that individuals and teams are held responsible for their performance and actions. When accountability is lacking, a culture of mediocrity can take root, where poor performance and missed deadlines become the norm.

Patrick Lencioni's "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" emphasizes that without accountability, team members are less likely to take ownership of their tasks and responsibilities. This can lead to a decline in overall performance and effectiveness.

This issue is especially challenging for nonprofits. In my experience, nonprofit leaders know that they have a reputation for paying less in salary than for-profits, and the facts suggest that this is so. They justify this discrepancy by telling themselves that their team gets to work on issues close to their hearts, and they get to do that in a loving environment. The latter concern, unfortunately, makes nonprofit leaders hesitant to enforce accountability.

How the Dysfunction Manifests:

• Unclear Expectations: Team members are unsure of their specific responsibilities and what is expected of them, often because their leaders do not want to sound too “corporate” or “bossy.”
• Lack of Follow-Through: Commitments are made but not consistently honored, leading to missed targets and deadlines.
• Blame Shifting: When issues arise, team members deflect blame rather than taking responsibility and addressing the problem. It is always easy to blame the workload, or the fact that the need for services is unfathomable.

Why It Undermines Performance:

• Erodes Trust: Lack of accountability undermines trust within the team, as members cannot rely on each other to fulfill their commitments. High performers who want to truly make a difference get frustrated.
• Promotes Mediocrity: Without accountability, there is little incentive to strive for excellence, leading to subpar performance.
• Hinders Progress: Projects and initiatives stall when team members do not follow through on their commitments.

Examples

Imagine a nonprofit dedicated to animal welfare struggles with accountability. Staff members frequently miss project deadlines, but there are no consequences or follow-up discussions. This lack of accountability leads to a backlog of work and missed opportunities to secure funding and partnerships.

This happens in the real world. Unfortunately, in my practice over the years, I have found this challenge prevailing in most nonprofits. There is no dichotomy between accountability and psychological safety.

Strengthening Accountability

To strengthen accountability, nonprofit leaders should set clear expectations and provide regular feedback. Implementing performance metrics and conducting regular reviews can help ensure that everyone is meeting their responsibilities. Creating a culture where accountability is seen as a shared value, rather than a punitive measure, can also enhance organizational performance.

Those practices are reinforced by our Foundations for Growth engagement. There, team members are coached to take ownership of the changes they want to see in their organization. They learn a cycle of identifying, prioritizing, and responding to issues and then accounting for their results. In short, they learn that accountability and job satisfaction go hand in hand.