Accountability
Accountability is a word I hear a lot these days, usually in the form of "That person needs to be held accountable." I think what people usually mean is "That person needs to be punished."
But accountability simply means to be answerable. One who is accountable is liable to be called upon to justify or explain what has happened. It's about ownership, not punishment. For laboratory professionals, it's explaining why a result is elevated, decreased, or not reported. You and no one else are accountable for reporting accurate results. Discipline may be inferred, but it doesn't change accountability.
Two ideas:
One, accountability implies a willingness to be held accountable. A manager can blame someone for a mistake, but unless that person has agreed to take responsibility it's a waste of time. And root causes can be complex.
Was an erroneous glucose caused by the phlebotomist, the tech who did instrument maintenance, the tech who ran quality control, or the tech who signed out the report? Was it telephone calls, gossiping neighbors, too many STATs, or other distractions? If people aren't clearly accountable, we may never know.
Two, a manager needs to delegate accountability. It may be as simple as "If your name is on it you own it," to "the techs who do maintenance and quality control need to tell the next shift their work has been completed." This delegation defines a team – how it works together and with others.
A lack of accountability creates a culture of secrecy with two realities – what we say and what we do – and people who won't get involved. Worse, people fear being blamed when they are not responsible. True accountability begets transparency. It seems to me this only happens when management delegates appropriately. As with many things, it starts at the top.