CTRL-ALT-LEAD with David Hinson

Episode Title: Accountability
Date: January 31, 2025
Host: David Hinson, Campus CIO at Boldyn Networks

Episode Overview

In this episode of CTRL-ALT-LEAD, David Hinson delves into the concept of accountability—what it truly means, why it's so challenging, and how leaders can foster accountability within their teams, especially in high-stakes scenarios. Drawing from a personal experience tackling a catastrophic network outage before a hurricane, Hinson illustrates the practical realities, emotional hurdles, and transformative outcomes that emerge when leaders embrace true accountability.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Defining Accountability

• 00:14 David opens with a simple definition:

  “Accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions. Simple enough, right?”

• He reflects on the widespread discomfort with being held to account, emphasizing a general reluctance to genuinely own outcomes.

2. Accountability Analogy: The Seinfeld Reservation

• 01:07 Hinson uses a humorous “Seinfeld” analogy to clarify the difference between paying lip service to accountability and actually embodying it:

  “You know how to take the reservation, you just don’t know how to hold the reservation. And that’s really the most important part of the reservation. Many of us have that same relationship with accountability.”

• The core idea: “We can take it, but we don’t know how to hold it.” (01:27)

3. Why is Accountability So Tough?

• 01:40 The reluctance to embrace consequences is at the heart of the struggle.

  “When things go sideways with something we are personally doing... it’s easier to blame someone else, to duck and to cover.”

• Accountability, he argues, isn’t about blame—it’s about ownership and integrity.

4. Leadership and Taking Ownership

• 02:12 David articulates a leader’s duty:

  “It’s a true telling of a genuine leader when they can bear the brunt of responsibility and ensure things are put to right without first deflecting blame to others.”

• He suggests that lacking this quality disqualifies someone from leadership in good conscience.

5. Personal Crisis Example: The Hurricane Fiber Outage

• 02:48 Hinson describes a high-pressure incident:

  • During hurricane preparations at a previous institution, the campus network went down.
  • Upon investigation, it was discovered that a campus employee—working unsupervised—had intentionally cut 40% of the campus fiber network.
  • With a hurricane looming, the team faced the near-impossible task of re-splicing 200+ pairs of unmarked fiber.

• Emotional Response and Responsibility

  • 03:48 Despite feelings of shock and anger, they focused on solving the problem, not assigning blame.

    “We could have just sat there and stewed in our outrage… But that was simply not an option. It was our responsibility to repair this mess that we helped to make.”

  • A fiber team was brought in from two hours away, and together they worked ten hours through the night to restore the network with minutes to spare before the storm hit.

6. What Went Right: Lessons in Accountability

• 05:03 David reflects on their response:

  “We were accountable. We were physically present, and while we were naturally upset, we focused instead on the solution at hand while owning our role in the lack of supervision which ultimately contributed to the fiber apocalypse.”

• The aftermath led to better processes and emergency toolkits.

7. Building Accountable Teams: Practical Guidance

• 06:00 Hinson outlines three keys:
  1. Transform Fear of Blame into Learning:

     “You must show [your team] that mistakes are opportunities for learning and not for punishment.”
     Otherwise, “you’re going to find yourself working with a group that sees little in the way of upside for putting themselves at professional risk.”

  2. Create Clarity in Roles and Responsibilities:

     “Without clarity, accountability feels unfair. Ensure everyone understands what they’re responsible for and how their work contributes to the larger whole.”

  3. Overcome Resistance to Feedback:
     • Trust and respect are crucial for teams to accept feedback and responsibility.

     “Feedback is easier to take from someone you respect and trust. Repeatedly, I see this as one of the biggest obstacles in creating teams willing to change and accept responsibility.”

8. The Leader's Presence: Gravitas in Crisis

• 08:00 Hinson highlights the importance of leaders being actively involved when problems arise:

  “It requires being present and engaged when things are aflame, contributing to solutions, expediting and facilitating problem solving. Helping even if you're not the one turning the wrench.”

9. Can Accountability Be Learned?

• 08:43 He notes that while great leaders may be born with accountability, it is a teachable quality:

  “Accountability can be learned, it can be modeled, and it can be passed on. But first you have to hold yourself accountable. Your team will then respond and hold themselves equally as responsible as you demonstrate yourself to be.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On real ownership:

  “Accountability isn’t about blame. It’s about ownership. It’s about integrity, and ultimately, it’s about building teams and workplaces where people are empowered to do and offer their very best.” (02:00)

• On team transformation:

  “The disaster made us change to have much better processes, to have more secure procedures, and to craft better emergency toolkits for when the unthinkable became the inevitable.” (05:38)

• On leadership presence:

  “Knowing you are simply there has its own weight and its own gravitas.” (08:17)

• On teaching accountability:

  “Your team will then respond and hold themselves equally as responsible as you demonstrate yourself to be.” (09:03)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 — Introduction: Defining accountability
• 01:07 — “Seinfeld” analogy on reservations and accountability
• 02:12 — The leader’s responsibility and qualities
• 02:48 — Hurricane/fiber outage story begins
• 05:03 — What the team did right during the crisis
• 06:00 — Building accountable teams: steps and mindset
• 08:00 — The importance of leaders’ presence in crises
• 08:43 — Accountability as a teachable, transferrable skill

Tone and Style

Hinson’s tone throughout is conversational, candid, and emphasizes practical wisdom alongside personal storytelling. He uses relatable humor (the “Seinfeld” reference), vulnerable storytelling (the hurricane incident), and actionable leadership advice, making the episode both engaging and instructive for tech leaders and managers in higher education.

Summary prepared as a standalone resource for listeners and leaders seeking to foster true accountability in themselves and their teams.