Podcast Episode 19 is out: Blair Glencorse from Accountability Labs

By Lukas on 16 Aug 2023

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:

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