7 Truths About Accountability

Denis July 19, 2019

The English Thesaurus gives the following results for “Accountability”:

Answerability,
Responsibility,
Liability,
Culpability,

In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies. Including the administration, governance, and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position, and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable. The obligation of an individual or organization is to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.

“At the end of the day we are accountable to ourselves – our success is a result of what we do.”
Catherine Pulsifer

Here are seven truths about accountability, which will help you better understand and increase accountability levels in your organization:

Accountability starts with you.

Leadership defines culture, and if you want to create a culture of accountability, then it starts with you. You need to model the behaviours that you want to see in your organization. If you want people to take ownership, then you have to be seen to take ownership, when you make commitments you have to be seen to meet those commitments. If you don’t, then why should anyone else be interested in doing so? You have to walk the talk if you want others to follow you down the accountability path.

You are Accountable.

As the leader you are accountable. You’re accountable for any failures, as well as any successes that your organization may have. Accountability comes as part of the job description, which is why, if you try to duck it, it will have a negative impact on the levels of accountability that already exist.

Accountability is not a one-time thing.

Accountability is not a one-time, sometime thing; it’s an all-time thing. Those people who don’t want to be accountable, or held accountable, are always looking for any opportunities to get out of it. Any slips, or gaps in your accountability will give them the out they need, and only be accountable when it suits them.

You need to be seen to be as, being accountable, at all times..

Accountability applies to one and all.

When you’re looking to hold people accountable you cannot play favourites; you cannot let it slide with some people. Accountability has to be consistently required of everyone, all the time. If you chose to let one person ignore their accountabilities then it opens the door for others to be selectively accountable too.

Accountability cannot be delegated.

You cannot delegate accountability. Accountability is something that has to be accepted for that person to feel accountable and to have them take ownership. The best way to get people to accept accountability is to set them up to be successful. No one is going to take ownership and show accountability for something that they know, or believe is going to fail.

If you want people to accept accountability, ask them if they have everything they need to be successful. When they say yes, they have taken a big step towards accepting accountability. When they say no, then you need to make sure you provide whatever is missing, because without it, they will never accept accountability.

Accountability is the difference between success and failure.

When people don’t accept responsibility, and things start to go wrong, they don’t feel ownership and they tend to go into spectator mode and watch as things fail. If they thought it would fail from the outset it’s even worse; they go into “I told you so” mode, which nearly always becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Whereas when people take ownership, when things start to go wrong, they step into solution mode. They start to figure out what’s going wrong and endeavour to fix it. Teams that are successful, are full of people that go into solution mode. They are full of people who not only care but take care.

In my experience, accountability is the single biggest differentiator between successful and unsuccessful teams.

You have to hold people accountable.

You can’t just tell people they’re accountable, and then leave them to it. Yes, it may work for some, but not for all. You need to set up review sessions; you have to check in and see how people are doing.

This serves three purposes:

It lets them know that they will be held accountable for the activities.
It gives you an opportunity to provide support in case things start to go wrong.
It offers you the opportunity to offer praise and encouragement to move people further if things are going well.

Accountability is something that has to be worked at. There has to be a clear and consistent strategy on how it’s going to be implemented and validated.

It starts with you, and it has to apply at all times and to everyone.

It’s important that you build a culture of accountability from the start. Remember that accountability is building a culture of trust and not fear. Your goal is not to punish and look for errors and mistakes. Instead, you seek to open up multiple feedback mechanisms, fill in gaps, improve on solutions, reward productive behaviour, and remove unproductive ones. As a leader, you yourself should hold yourself to the highest level of accountability.

Some organizations do away with accountability, because they think that people will feel like they’re under constant surveillance. However, when done with the right motivations and the corresponding appropriate actions, accountability will give people more freedom to be their best. When you can do that, it will help you create a culture of accountability, where the organization will start to hold itself and others accountable, which will have a massive impact on performance and results.

“Accountability breeds response-ability.”
Stephen R Covey

7 Truths About Accountability

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