How to build accountability in your business and hire the right people

Why sloping shoulders, monkey collectors and recruitment clarity matters more than you think… 

With insights from Malcolm Palmer, Founder of A4G, Business Owner for 30+ Years

When a business owner says they are overwhelmed, drowning in tasks, or constantly picking up the pieces after their team, the root problem is rarely workload.
More often, the real issue is accountability. Or rather, the lack of it.

In this week’s episode of Making Your Business Less Dependent on You, Malcolm Palmer explains why accountability breaks down, how recruitment plays a bigger role than most people realise, and what business owners can do to build a team that takes responsibility rather than passing the buck.

If missed deadlines, unclear roles, or constant firefighting feel familiar, this article will walk you through the practical steps to change it.

You can also watch the full video here if you prefer the deeper dive.

The accountability breakdown almost every business faces

Most business owners have experienced the famous story of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.
Everyone thought the job would get done.
Anybody could have done it.
Somebody should have done it.
Nobody actually did it.

It is amusing when you first hear it. It is not so funny when it reflects what is happening inside your business.

Tasks fall through the cracks because no one has clear ownership. Accountability disappears because responsibility is assumed, not defined. Culture erodes because people believe someone else is sorting the problem.

Malcolm has seen this countless times during his 30 years running A4G and advising hundreds of small business owners. The pattern is always the same.
When the structure is unclear, the owner ends up carrying the entire business on their shoulders.

The real danger: Sloping shoulders in your team

One of the stories Malcolm shares in this week’s video involves an employee who had what a colleague called “sloping shoulders”.

Anything that should have been on their shoulders quietly slid onto someone else’s desk.

The problem with sloping shoulders employees is simple. They do not create chaos. They do not rebel. They do not shout. They do not even seem like a problem at first.

They silently transfer responsibility to others.
And the people who pick it all up are usually your best performers.

This is how your most conscientious staff become overloaded, frustrated and eventually burnt out. It is also how business owners find themselves tidying up messes rather than leading the business.

The opposite of sloping shoulders: Monkey collectors

In contrast, high performing staff behave differently. They collect monkeys.

In the book The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey, tasks are described as monkeys. If a task is yours, the monkey is on your back. The best employees naturally take ownership of the monkeys that belong to them and often take on more because they want to learn, grow and contribute.

These people are your future leaders. They are the ones who make your business stronger.
But they can only thrive if you stop letting others hand their monkeys over to them.

For small businesses trying to grow, this distinction is critical. You cannot build a strong organisation when responsibility is uneven and unclear.

Why recruitment is often the hidden cause of accountability problems

Most business owners only evaluate accountability inside the team. But Malcolm suggests the real issue often begins much earlier.

It begins during recruitment.

When someone leaves your business, the natural reaction is panic. You rush to replace them. You go to an agency. You look for a like for like match. You hire quickly because you feel you must.

This is one of the biggest recruitment mistakes a business owner can make.

Instead, Malcolm teaches a different approach.
List out everything that person used to do.
Break down each task.
Move some responsibilities to someone who is ready to take a step up.
Create variation in the role before you even advertise.

Not only does this improve internal progression, it also means your recruitment process is based on the future needs of the business rather than the past habits of the job.

When you design the job correctly, you attract the right people.
When you hire the right people, accountability becomes natural rather than forced.

How clear job descriptions stop tasks falling through the cracks 

Malcolm explains in the episode that every job description needs two essential parts.

1. A full list of responsibilities
2. A simplified overview that describes the role clearly

This creates clarity at the beginning of employment, not six months down the line.

Far too many business owners start employment with vague expectations.
They hope the employee will “work it out”.
They assume common sense will fill the gaps.
They expect accountability, even though responsibilities were never truly defined.

When you write the job clearly, you set the employee up to succeed.
When you hire well, you shift your business away from dependence on you.

Why this matters for business owners trying to reduce dependency

Business owners who want their company to run without relying on them need three things.

A team that takes responsibility.
Recruitment that brings in the right behaviour as well as the right skills.
A culture where accountability is clear, fair and consistently reinforced.

Malcolm’s mission at A4G has always been to help owner-managed businesses gain time, freedom and control. After 30 years of building his own firm and supporting hundreds of other owners, he has seen the consequences of poor accountability and rushed recruitment many times.

When you get this right, everything becomes easier.
Your time frees up.
Stress reduces.
Team performance increases.
Your business becomes much less dependent on you.