What TV's "Scandal" Has Reminded Me About Accountability

On a recent business trip, I binge-watched season five of Scandal. I'm not wild about all the acting and the plot twists and turns so much I have whiplash, but the thing that struck me over and over again in the series is how nobody is held accountable for their actions. (Well, that is, unless they get shot. Then there's some accountability.)

I won't ruin the plot, but there is a threat that the president will be impeached for doing something bad (that we all know he did). And the whole episode is about finding back-channel ways to negotiate, wheedle, and wheel-and-deal his way out of it. Which I'm not saying I wouldn't try - the stakes are really high! But it sets a terrible example for aspiring leaders and politicians, especially because Tony Goldwyn's character is painted as such an endearing, authentic guy.

So what has it reminded me?

1) Accountability is about owning what you've done, good and bad

When you succeed or when you fail, you own it. You don't make excuses, point the finger, or otherwise lay blame. You are transparent about your mistakes, and you use language that is clear, straightforward, and not overly complicated to communicate it. All of this will rebuild trust if your actions have broken it.

For managers, this can mean owning what your team has done, whether or not it was what you told them to do. You are the team's representative and it's up to you to make sure they're delivering the results that are expected.

2) Accountability is about accepting the consequences

When I was designing a training program at a previous job, the CEO and I had different ideas about the "right" way to create it. We disagreed on whether it should be in person or hybrid, how often classes should be scheduled, and who should be involved. In the end, the design of the program wasn't what I would have chosen, but I owned it. I did the best with the expectations that were handed to me, and only in private circles did I blame the CEO for the outdated design choices.

You don't have to like the consequences, and you don't even have to think they're fair. But, as a leader, you can't badmouth the consequences on a grand scale or you're not owning them and being accountable.

3) Accountability is about taking action to improve going forward.

A key piece of accountability is learning from your mistakes (which Olivia Pope never seems to do!) and using that learning to make better choices in the future. You don't have a make a big song and dance about "ooh, look at what I learned from the past," but using language that connects your current actions to what you learned shows that you're self-aware about your choices and are doing something about them.

The male leader of my old entirely-female HR team regularly referred to us as "guys." (As in, "all right guys, what's next?" or "hey guys, let's focus on this.") I told him at one point that, since we weren't guys, maybe he could find another word to use. He struggled because it was hard to find a non-"y'all" replacement (which wouldn't have worked because he's a Brit), but he landed on "everyone." And he wasn't perfect - sometimes "guys" would slip out, but he would stop and correct himself. It meant the world to me that he was committed to my feedback and to owning that he had been using biased language.

Do I recommend Scandal? No, not really. But it's a good primer in what not to do if you're trying to be an accountable leader. And sometimes, seeing what we shouldn't be doing is a more powerful teacher than seeing what we should.