by Lukas on 16 Aug 2023

Podcast Episode 19 is out: Blair Glencorse from Accountability Labs

Blair Glencorse is the Founder and Executive Director of Accountability Lab, a global NGO focussing on empowering citizens to make changes they know are necessary in their communities. A global expert in citizen engagement and anti-corruption, Blair has a unique approach to improving governance and accountability across the world. Whether it’s ‘naming and faming’ honest and trustworthy government officials through X Factor style ‘Integrity Icon’, or publishing the annual strategy in a rap song. He discusses:

• ‘Positive deviance’ – what it is and why it’s been important to him since childhood
• The problem with the way we set up incentives in our society
• The ‘Integrity Icon’ project and how it made honest government officials famous – starting in Nepal
• His experience at the World Bank and how the idea for Accountability Lab came from his work with people in Nepal
• How most frontline issues, be it lack of education or clean water, stem from a lack of accountability in leadership
• The mission of Accountability Lab today and his role
• Why they chose to publish their strategy in hip-hop form (listen to a clip!) and the problem with most corporate strategy documents
• Their engagement with musicians, artists and technologists to amplify their ideas through culture
• How accountability will be good for business in the future
• His approach to ‘radical transparency’
• The balance between collaboration and competition across multiple sectors, especially when it comes to anti-corruption and climate issues
• The emergence of ‘Chief Integrity Officers’ and the importance of balancing ethics with compliance to avoid corporate scandals
• His advice for a new Chief Integrity Officer and how to embed ethics throughout a culture
• The organisations whose example we should try and follow
• A success story from ‘Integrity Icon’, increasing female representation in regional government in Pakistan
• His approach to leadership as a collective effort within a flat structure
• Defining organisational values and how to embed values-led decision making

Want to appear? Email podcast@standingongiants.com

You can listen to the podcast here: