Lack of accountability is when we fail to accept our own shortcomings and mistakes. This can take the form of an outright rejection of them, or it can be an unwillingness to change. Accountability means that when we make mistakes, we want to know it and to fix them. This requires a willingness and the capacity to learn from the mistakes. Believing we have the capacity to act is also a form of accountability. Accountability is essential to learning.

Organizations and lack of Accountability

The first mistake that makes all the others worse is not talking about mistakes. We don’t think we should air our dirty laundry in public. We want to preserve our dignity—or our funding. Talking about mistakes will distract people from all the good we do. We believe we can take care of the mistakes internally. We can learn from them and do better next time.

This is not accountable behavior. Nor is it learning behavior.

Do No Harm learned through people’s mistakes and their willingness to share them. The Project provided a collaborative and safe space for people to discuss their organizational failures and mistakes so that everybody could learn together.

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