Profound Changes in the Workplace, Part III

Thereis a new sheriff in town and his name is: Accountability.  Earlierthis week, this blog addressed the fact that executives and managers areencountering higher degrees of accountability, not just to bosses and boards,but also to employees.  Today, Iwill address the third client in the accountability triad:  yourself.

That’sright – you!  You are the one whogot you here, and it was your interest (obsession?) with yourself that probablymotivated you to accept an assignment as a manager, and maybe later as anexecutive.  Ego – I speak thyname.  But then you learned tosubordinate ego in place of “service.” 

·     “I am here toserve my team members, my employees who are really the heart and soul of thisoperation.” 

·     “I serve at thepleasure of the Board.”  

·     “I serve but twomasters:  my spouse at home and myboss in the corner office.” 

·     “I work for theshareholders of this great company – and for the tremendous employees who makeme look good every day.”

Soundfamiliar?  It should because we’veall been conditioned to shoulder the yolk of service and subordinate not onlyour ego, but almost everything else except our paycheck (personal life,physical health, time with children, vacations, recreation).   Also importantly, many of us losetrack of our career.  And withincreasing demands of accountability outlined in the previous two blogs, thechance of career consciousness taking a backseat increase.

Ifyou are a manager or executive, you are a Type A, goal-oriented,nose-to-the-grindstone grinder. But while you are busy grinding, and helping an organization worth ofemployees figure out their career happiness quotient, have you taken the timeand effort to assess your own situation? Trust me, nobody else is. You have to be accountable to yourself and not lose that in thetremendous, new levels of accountability you have to everyone else.  The world has changed so chances areyour world has changed too.  Haveyou taken stock?  Now’s the time.