The Prime Leader is Accountable

“For by wise guidance thou shalt make thy war; And in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” – Proverbs 24:6

Where there is responsibility there needs to be accountability. Without accountability, there is no transparency. Without transparency there is no trust. Without trust there is no productive relationship. Leaders particularly need to be accountable at various levels in order for them to stay on top of events. Many individuals are intimidated by the idea of being accountable because they have several things they would like to keep in the closet and are not prepared to get rid of. They have this tendency that in the long run will lead to their downfall but they would rather take the risk. Such tendencies feed on the momentum of practice and grow with each indulgence until the leader is no longer in control. Alcoholism, fraud, and other moral breaches need to be cut off as soon as yesterday with the aid of accountability partners. Lack of accountability is the cocktail for sex scandals and other embarrassing situations that quickly uproot leaders from office.

The leader needs to have accountability at two levels (the third level is often natural). The first level is the upward accountability. This is when the leader is accountable to a mentor who is guiding and directing them in the direction of their intended success. This is often someone that the leader has great respect towards and has achieved similar success (which validates his/her advice). This is very important because the mentor is able to confront issues with authority that peers at the same level will not have. He has an awareness of small looking tendencies and habits that lead to destruction that other people might view as petty and harmless. For men, three questions often asked are 1) How is your thought life? 2) How is your sex life? And 3) Did you lie to me about the first two? Other useful questions to ask are: Have you done anything that you would be ashamed of if Jesus walked into the room? Have you been thinking of things you would be ashamed of if Jesus was watching your thoughts? Of course the truth is that He already knows everything you do and think. This relationship is as the one Timothy had with Paul.

The second level of accountability is where the leader is accountable to someone at their peer level. This is a person who is at about the same stage of life or spirituality. This is important because the leader is able to relate with that person easily as they have a generally similar understanding of issues affecting them. They become a pair that can strengthen each other. This kind of relationship is as the one between Paul and Barnabas who was referred to as the son of encouragement. You can picture two friends that start to go to the gym together. When the one is about to give up before completing his set of reps, the friend encourages him to keep pushing, and the friend’s ability to complete the sets inspires his friend. I have found it a lot more effective than when I was working out alone at home where I just stop when I feel tired and there is no one to tip me.

The third kind of accountability is the one Paul had with Timothy (that is when the leader is the senior and is keeping a younger person accountable). In this relationship, the leader has a role to play as a mentor. He reaches deep into his resource to bring the best out of the younger person. This does not have to be a literally younger person in terms of age, but with respect to the desired area. Younger people may be more spiritually mature than older people. The role of teaching helps the leader see how much his convictions and values can shape another’s life and thus convinces himself of the importance of such practices. It also enforces the need to lead by example when you confront someone else about certain issues. You can not be confronting someone on fidelity issues when you lack integrity in that area. This kind of relationship makes you grow as does responsibility a lot of times.

In summary, every leader needs a Paul to look up to and be led by, a Barnabas to strengthen him and a Timothy to lead. I served in a ministry where our policy was to teach to teach to teach. Everyone was taught so that they could teach someone to teach. That makes learning a lot more important and enforces the need to understand what is taught. The leader thus should endeavour to understand the concepts of leadership so that they can pass them down to at least two generations. Accountability is a major part of this process.

Affirmation: I am accountable for my goings and comings. My life is as an open book.