Values Integrity Index For Scale-ups Doing Work That Matters

Accountability Isn’t Just A Value. It’s An Operating System.

Ethixly audits whether accountability is just a value on your website or whether your strategy translates into aligned KPIs, clear guardianship, and measurable impact at every level of your startup. 

Why ethixly?

In scale-ups, early performance management systems often fail quietly as headcount grows and complexity increases.

Even when KPIs and accountability structures exist, misalignment compounds rapidly…

  • Goals are set, but they don’t cascade cleanly.
  • KPIs exist, but they don’t connect across functions.
  • Roles are defined, but responsibility overlaps or diffuses.
  • Impact is discussed, but not structurally traceable.

Everyone is committed but commitment is not accountability, and over time:

  • Delivery slows without a clear structural cause.
  • Decisions concentrate at the top.
  • The founder or leadership team ends up manually resolving misalignment.
  • Underperformance becomes difficult to diagnose precisely.

What looks like a people problem is often a systems problem, and systems problems compound with growth.

Ethixly’s Accountability Diagnostic assesses whether accountability is structurally embedded across your organisation – from strategy to function to role. If it exists, it will be visible in your operating system. If it does not, scale – or due diligence – will expose it.

What We Audit

We assess whether accountability is structurally embedded across four layers of your organisation:

Strategic Alignment

  • Are company-level KPIs outcome-focused?
  • Does each KPI have a clear guardian?
  • Are expectations for missed targets defined?

Functional & Team Alignment

  • Do team and departmental KPIs directly contribute to company objectives?
  • Are there conflicting incentives between teams?
  • Is cross-functional collaboration structurally supported?

Role Level Traceability

  • Does every role have clearly defined outcome expectations?
  • Can each role’s contribution be traced upward to company goals?
  • Are expectations used in hiring, onboarding, and probation reviews? 

Leadership & Response Discipline

  • How are delivery gaps addressed consistently across teams?
  • Are performance conversations structured and consistent?
  • Are issues escalated according to process rather than defaulting to the founder?

We do not measure sentiment or perception.We examine operating reality.

Who This Is For

This diagnostic is designed for:

  • Scale-ups between 50–200 people
  • Founders and leadership teams managing rapid growth
  • Teams experiencing execution friction or cross-functional misalignment
  • Organisations hiring rapidly without defined role scorecards
  • Companies where the founder or senior leadership remains the escalation point

If your operating model is still informal in key areas, this exposes where that informality becomes structural risk.

What You Receive

You receive a structured Accountability Architecture Report, including:

  • Assessment of vertical KPI alignment across the organisation
  • Visual map showing how goals cascade from company to team to role
  • Analysis of role clarity and guardianship gaps
  • Review of how delivery issues are addressed in practice
  • Identification of structural risk areas
  • Prioritised recommendations for strengthening alignment

You will understand exactly where accountability holds – and where it breaks.

Your Investment

Scale-up Accountability Diagnostic: For organisations between 50-200 people.

Fixed fee: £15,000

This includes:

  • Strategic, functional, and role-level review
  • Leadership interviews (up to 10 stakeholders)
  • KPI cascade and role traceability mapping
  • Accountability Architecture Report
  • 90-120 minute executive findings and risk review session

Duration: 4-6 weeks from kickoff.

This is a fixed-scope diagnostic. It does not include advisory time. Structural clarity at this stage prevents compounding risk as the organisation grows.

For start-ups of up to 50 people, see here.

What Happens Next

After the diagnostic, you can:

  • Implement the findings internally, or
  • Engage us in a 30-45 day Accountability Implementation Sprint to:
    • Redesign KPI cascades across functions
    • Define role scorecards and accountability pathways
    • Clarify decision rights
    • Embed structured approaches for addressing missed targets

We work with you to embed accountability into the structure and frameworks of your organisation

Why This Matters

Execution rarely collapses overnight, it fragments gradually as headcount grows.

When accountability is not structurally embedded, it becomes:

  • Personality-driven
  • Politicised
  • Founder-dependent
  • Inconsistent

And what looks like a people issue is often a systems issue.

If your core values are not visible in your operating system, they will not survive scale.

🫱🏾‍🫲🏽 Book An Accountability Audit

Let’s test whether your operating model can withstand your growth.

Book An Accountability Diagnostic Discovery Call →