An old TV series I watched recently reminded me of an experience I’ve had many times in my work. In this I Love Lucy episode, Lucy is ordered by Ricky to create a schedule to make her “more efficient.” A schedule board, posted in their home, is a “best practice,” but without the best intent. The onus is on Lucy; the schedule is to keep her “accountable.” Ricky’s job is to watch the schedule for “adherence.”

Those words, “accountability” and “adherence,” I hear frequently. When problems occur, too often the accountability rests with the employee. The “tools” are put in place to force “adherence.” The manager’s role is to “audit”—usually not the process but the employee. Kinder words may be spoken when these “best practices” are described during customer tours, but on a daily basis, these practices are implicitly taken by managers to be countermeasures to presumed employee foul-ups, much like Lucy’s Schedule.

“Aren’t we supposed to be auditing?” a manager asked. “How can we ever sustain our improvement without adherence?” There’s another word I hear a lot: “sustain.”

 …