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What is a summary of Chapter 9?

Chapter 9 is titled "The Emerald City and Beyond: Getting Your Entire Organization Above the Line." This chapter takes place in the third and final section of the book, which focuses specifically on how accountability within groups can achieve results.


The authors emphasize that accountability within groups can occur once any individual person (presumably you, the reader) has made a conscious decision to commit to accountability and is willing to share the idea with others within his or her organization, including superiors and subordinates, peers, and even stakeholders. As mentioned many times previously in this book, accountability hinges on our ability to let go of the idea that we are the victim in any given situation and to decide to take ownership of a situation and its outcomes.


Much of the chapter then is dedicated to five key activities that will help build accountability within groups:


  • At every level within an organization, every person should receive training in accountability.

  • Continuous feedback should be provided to everyone regarding how well they are implementing the idea of accountability.

  • Everyone in the organization should ask "Above The Line" questions to determine the reality of the situation at hand, such as "What are we able to control here, and what else is beyond our control?"

  • Accountability should be recognized when it is properly executed and rewarded, in order to continually foster it.

  • Finally, follow through and actually hold people accountable for their own goals.

The authors bring the discussion back briefly to the metaphor of the travelers in the story of Oz, reminding us that these characters achieved personal gains while working as a team in which each member held himself accountable.

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