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A reproducible, "How to" article from the pen of Dr. Millard MacAdam

Initiating Personal Accountability and Commitment Teams ^©

Adapted from his book, "Intentional Personal Integrity"

Bill held the position of owner and president of his company. As he shared his vision for his company with me, it was clear his deep desire was to perform well as the top executive and to make substantive and long-term contributions to the achievement of the vision, mission and goals he wanted to accomplish. As we talked, he told me that deep down he knew that to do this, and encourage others to do this consistently, he needed to personally exhibit a high level of integrity as he conducted the business of the organization. He also knew that he must develop within his organization a team of people dedicated to mutual accountability regarding their own expressions of character, competence and commitment to think, say and do the right things.

As we talked, he confessed that at times he found his honesty slipping as he capitulated to the virus of dishonesty and played the game of business using today’s popular operational paradigm of "Conditional Integrity". He told me he didn't feel good about it and was worried about the operating values he was modeling for his colleagues, employees and customers as well as his wife and children. He was also concerned about the distrust that he was beginning to experience from some of them.

I told him that I saw conditional integrity as an oxymoron. I challenged him to determine his genuine intent and not to play mental games or rationalize when dealing with an issue as important as personal and organizational integrity. Right on the spot I saw and heard him make the intentional decision to do something about it!

As we began planning ahead, I suggested to Bill that we outline the key steps and timeline for initiating PACTs (Personal Accountability and Commitment Teams) throughout his company. I suggested he and the other top leaders in the company let me help them integrate a Total Integrity Management operational paradigm into the company's culture. Bill agreed to the goal of replacing the existing operational paradigm of Conditional Integrity that had been proven to lose some prized customers for the company as well as some highly valued employees.

However, shortly after our initial agreement, Bill begin to wrestle with me. My perception was that he was afraid it was going to be too tough to manage the business of the organization with a focus on total integrity given the toughness and competitiveness of the economic environment. He expressed concerns about setting up the PACT (Performance Accountability Commitment Team) process I had recommended as a short part of the agenda for all regularly held management and department meetings. He expressed his concerns to me about how resistant people would be to giving and receiving substantive performance feedback related to the expression of their character, competence and commitment to say and do the right thing.

As we talked, I accepted and acknowledged his concerns and coached him through the understanding of his resistance. When his resistance lowered, I challenged him to take the first step by preparing himself as a personal model of intentional integrity and to become the champion of the Total Integrity Management processes in his company. I suggested he begin his preparation by first developing a PACT (Performance Accountability Commitment Team) process at home with his family before we proceeded with the introduction of the concept to his management team.

Bill saw wisdom in this first-step strategy and that it would help him begin the process of aligning his own "walk and talk" so that he would be a viable, living example of vulnerability as he modeled the process and talked about it before we introduced it to his management team.

At home he reflected on, and listed, the worthwhile values and standards for conduct that would help him and his family members think, say and do the right things to get the right results. Bill knew from real-life experience that his wrong thinking and actions had ultimately led him to getting wrong results.

After examining his deeply held operating values and developing a sound set of personal standards for conduct, he then shared them with his wife, and then his children. He asked them if they would be willing to take some time each week to engage in a simple family PACT process. They all agreed that their intent was to live by high ethical standards for conduct but that it was hard to do. They thought that helping and encouraging each other to stay on track and make things right when getting off track was a good idea and would benefit everyone in the family.

Bill's family members added to his list of values and they all reached agreement on the most important virtues and operating values for their family. They also agreed to help one another be accountable for honoring these values at home, school and work. He and his family then agreed on some ground rules to help the PACT process work in accord with the saying "You can get what you expect, when you inspect and reflect with respect."

Like Bill, you can start the PACT process where it will have a positive, lasting and trouble-preventing impact... with your family at home. As you lead your family in establishing the PACT process, the sample outline below will help you. Use it as a guideline for custom designing a family PACT process that fits the needs and desires of your family members.

Guidelines for Establishing A Family PACT

Establish Your Purpose (Example)

The purpose of our Performance Accountability Commitment Team partnership is to help one another strengthen our character, competence and personal commitment to thinking, saying and doing the right things.

Agree on Your Key Operating Values as a Focus for Your PACT (Examples)

Compassion, Responsibility, Self-discipline, Perseverance, Honesty, Loyalty, etc.

Agree on Your Main PACT Activities (Examples)

The listed activities give us a flexible agenda that will be used to guide us during our meetings. We want to achieve our purpose and at the same time help each PACT member recognize and take the initiative to meet his or her own unique needs as we help each other build more virtuous and rewarding lives.

• Progress Reports - Short personal sharing of “integrity under fire” successes.

• Integrity Check - Asking one another key questions about "walking the talk."

• Preparation - Review “integrity under fire” challenges and personal goal setting.

• Coaching - As requested, give problem solving and coaching help on integrity issues.

Agreeing on Mutual Expectations for Members of Your PACT (Examples)

• Commit to being ready to start and end on time.

• Actively share personal thoughts, feelings, concerns and needs.

• Actively listen to the thoughts, feelings, concerns and needs of others.

• Maintain total confidentiality within the PACT.

• Contribute to creating a high integrity, non judgmental meeting environment.

• Take initiative toward helping the PACT function well.

• Be open to declaring mistakes, thoughts and feelings and giving and receiving beneficial feedback and coaching.

Agree on Your Integrity Check Questions (Examples)

Develop some key integrity questions to ask one another, like, "Have you...

1. been honest by telling the truth and taking only what's rightfully yours?"

2. demonstrated self-discipline by thinking, saying and doing the right thing?"

3. taken full responsibility for your own actions and not blamed others?"

4. shown compassion by demonstrating patience and calm understanding in tough situations?"

5. just lied to us as your PACT partners?"

Bill and his family found themselves relating with each other more openly during their regular weekly family PACT meetings. They found it easier and easier to declare mistakes, thoughts and feelings to other family members their integrity under fire issues and provide each other with corrective performance feedback and coaching. He and his family found their lives enhanced as they more regularly and easily expressed higher levels of character, competence and commitment to doing the right things in all aspect of their lives.

Bill gained confidence as he clearly saw the benefits of using the PACT process with his family. With this confidence, he was able to introduce the idea of initiating a PACT process to his senior management team. As he reflected with them about past events, Bill showed them how dishonesty in any form was wrong and always created a deficit on the bottom line over the long term. He told them that it was a matter of good business to use a PACT process to promote good business conduct and the operational paradigm of Total Integrity Management throughout their company.

As Bill and I worked together to initiate the PACT process, he assertively put a strong emphasis on the fact that integrity and profitability go hand-in-hand. He candidly told his team about several times in the past when he had suffered the consequences of conditional integrity... doing the right thing as long as it wasn’t going to cost him dollars or difficulties.

He explained to his management team that he had resolved to avoid compromising what he knew was right and wanted them to hold him accountable for his actions in terms of this resolve. He let them know that he had adopted an intentional integrity philosophy, deciding to pursue integrity regardless of the cost. He let them know that his desire was to help them and all of the company’s employees begin the process of integrating a Total Integrity Management system throughout the company.

Bill directly, but kindly, put on the table what he had observed ... that conditional integrity was the company’s operating norm. He shared with them his survey of past and present customers and employees that indicated clearly to him and the board that conditional integrity had cost the company many prized and profitable customers as well as highly talented and productive employees.

In seeking to redirect his company’s operating philosophy, Bill and I first helped the top management team define the values they felt should drive the company’s operations and serve as standards for personal conduct to which they would all be accountable. They incorporated these values into personal, written leadership credos they shared with their employees, suppliers and customers and asked that they be held accountable. The members of the management team initiated the PACT process at their department levels. On a company-wide basis, the management team and employees developed and established principle centered decision-making and problem-solving processes that all departments, managers and employees were expected to use.

Looking back on the investment of time and talent it took to build a high integrity team and company, Bill, his management team and the company’s employees were all satisfied. They had been proactive by putting the PACT portion of their integrity management system in place. With the PACT process, they knew they were well positioned to deter new and old employees from becoming involved in fraud, theft and wrong-doing in their organization. They knew that the sufficiency of their integrity management system established the mitigating factors that would protect them from serious fines and jail terms under the new Federal Sentencing Guidelines if something bad were to happen.

Go for it - initiate a PACT at home and then throughout your company. You’ll enjoy the benefits Bill and his management team members are enjoying... being world class managers in a world class company!