By Mel Wilinsky

Mel Wilinsky

This is the seventh in a series of eight articles written by Outrigger’s executives in support of our Value of the Week program. Every other week one of our company’s executives will introduce the value of the week and share what that value means to them. This week’s author is Mel Wilinsky, Outrigger’s Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, and this week’s Value of the Week is: Accountability (Kuleana) – We have the courage and discipline to act on our responsibilities and to accept all consequences. – Ka‘ipo Ho

How fitting that I be given the opportunity to write about Kuleana. I am sure that when many of you think about Financial Services, you think, they are responsible for performing the company’s accounting and, therefore, they are by definition accountable. However, as we all know or should know, Kuleana is about much more than that; it is about taking responsibility for your actions. The concept of Kuleana is one of responsibility — taking ownership for what we do in our daily lives, at work, as well as at home. Acting in a responsible way and accepting responsibility for how we act is a concept we teach our children at an early age, and hopefully, we reinforce that teaching by the way we act as parents, and how we interact with our family, friends, and business associates. If ever there was a value that we can teach by example, Kuleana has to be at the top of the list of values that qualifies, and if not at the top, then very close to it.

What does it mean to be accountable, to accept responsibility for your actions? Too often in society today we see our friends, neighbors, relatives, even our children, and sadly, even businesses failing to step up and act in a responsible fashion. It seems that today it has become all too common to see a problem or a behavior that is clearly the result of a failure to accept responsibility on some level. The child that does not do their homework and then tries to explain away why it was someone else’s fault or there was some reason why they could not get their work done. Or the teenager who goes out in the evening but does not tell his or her parents where he or she is really going, and then tries to “lay off” the blame for not being honest on another friend or offering a lame excuse. I am sure we all have a relative who routinely talks “stink” about another relative, only to deny that they didn’t, and then watch as the victim of the rumor suffers. We all have, I am sure, in our daily workday, witnessed a member of our ‘ohana not do their job, or take a short cut that is clearly going to create problems down the road for the company and others in the department. And what about the business, large or small, that takes unnecessary risks or does not play by the rules and as result, finds itself in a mess and looks to the outside for help — does the word “bailout” come to mind? It used to be we bailed out of our canoe, but not today. When I say bailout, you all know what that means and the cost associated with it.

So what happened? Where did we go wrong? For the most part, we all are responsible individuals, and most of us accept the consequences resulting from not acting responsibly. In our Financial Services ‘ohana, for instance, we recognize that sometimes we are not perfect (rarely, I would offer), but on those rare occasions, our ‘ohana owns up to the problem, makes the necessary adjustments, and moves forward. There is no reprisal in our business ‘ohana for a miscue, and in our personal lives, there, likewise, should be no reprisal either. After all, we are all here to help one another, not bail one another out.

However, when help is expected to the point of dependency, a problem arises. Sure, not doing homework is as much a part of childhood as is playing. But when not doing homework is a way of life and looking for reasons to rationalize why NOT doing homework is OK and the norm, then the child is functioning outside of their Kuleana or area of responsibility, and must be prepared to accept the consequences of their behavior.

We all need to instill in our children and in our daily lives a sense of responsibility on all levels, both at work and at home. When you realize that something is wrong, it becomes your responsibility to try to fix the problem. If you can’t fix the problem, you have an obligation to bring the problem to someone’s attention who can resolve the problem, or at a minimum, address how to fix it. Doing nothing and hoping that someone else will notice and solve the problem is not an option. We all have been taught that one good deed leads to another. If we practice the value of Kuleana and take ownership of our actions, we too can become an example for our families, friends, and coworkers to follow. It is great to be able to rely on folks, but let’s not confuse relying on someone for assistance and expecting someone to come to your rescue regardless of the problem.

Accountability (Kuleana) – Let’s all have the courage and discipline to act on our responsibilities and to accept all consequences, good or bad.