Accountability

Episode 28:  For The Good Of The Outfit

Henry:      This poop sheet’s just come in from General Clayton’s office down in Seoul.  The army has started rebuilding Taidong.  It’s going to be better than it ever was.  All new housing, a temple, a town hall with inside toilets, a shopping centre and they’re getting the first soft-ice-cream stand in all of East Asia.

Hawkeye:   That’s terrific.  I’m glad.  Now, what about rebuilding the truth?  This is compensation.  Where’s their admission of responsibility?

Henry:      Well, soft ice-cream is a pretty good admission!

Hawkeye and Trapper discover that a local village was accidentally shelled by the US, while operating on South Korean wounded.  As they try to get the Army to be accountable for their actions, they are confronted by a cover-up and are urged to keep quiet about the incident.

There is much discussion about the difference between responsibility and accountability and whether or not they are interchangeable terms. As a father of twins, I see responsibility and accountability as being like non-identical twins, similar in nature, but unique in personality. While they are closely related, they are two distinct expressions of the same paradigm with one fulfilling the other. To accept responsibility without any accountability is like making a commitment or confession without any consequences.  You could say that accountability is responsibility with skin on. Organisations or leaders who avoid accountability are diminishing the value of responsibility and vice versa.  When I accept responsibility for a task, I expect to be accountable for that task and when I admit responsibility for a failure, I expect to be accountable for that failure.

Overcoming Temptation

Episode 8:  Cowboy

Hawkeye:   [reading Cowboy’s letter from home] “Dear John.  Sometimes when you’re away from someone you thought you loved you find yourself tested by being tempted.  That’s what has happened to me.  Dear, dear John.  I was tempted, and I didn’t want to write until I knew whether I’d pass the test.  If I say I love you more than ever, will it tell you how I did?  And that I’m completely worthy of the most wonderful guy in the world.”

Helicopter pilot “Cowboy” is awaiting a letter from his wife while laid up at the 4077^th with a shoulder wound.  Concerned that she might be cheating on him and angered by Colonel Blake’s refusal to send him home to deal with his domestic issues, Cowboy tries to blow Henry up and takes him on a kamikaze helicopter ride.  The letter arrives and disaster is averted when Cowboy receives the news he is hoping for.

Leaders often find themselves in vulnerable situations where they are faced with a variety of temptations.  As people in a position of trust we must be aware of our weaknesses, put appropriate boundaries in place and develop accountable relationships.  While this may be sound advice, there is another dimension to fighting temptation.  I was recently confronted with the uncomfortable truth that I cannot be tempted by what I don’t desire. Therefore, the key to overcoming temptation is to submit my desires to Jesus Christ and allow His Spirit to renew my mind, for “those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Romans 8:5).