Commitment precedes accountability. How often do you know what to do but you just don’t do it? Knowing what to do is usually not the problem. Committing to it is. It’s only after we commit to something that we’re able to truly hold ourselves accountable.

Same is true for those we lead. If they are not committed to the project, or the values your team has adopted, then accountability might be an issue.

What is accountability?

Accountability is giving an account of your actions. An account of what you committed to, the decisions along the way, and the results that came from your actions. It’s taking responsibility and communicating about the progress you’ve made and the results (whether good or bad) that came from your efforts.

When you or your team members take full ownership of a project, you and they are being accountable. It means you are willing to explain your decisions and talk about your actions and the results openly and honestly with your team.

Accountability is something I work on personally and I often help business owners and leaders that I coach grow in this area. Think about how ineffective your work environment may be without people having to answer for their decisions, actions and results.

A leader’s accountability

It’s important to think about how we hold ourselves accountable and how that translates to holding others accountable.

As stated earlier, commitment precedes accountability so it’s important to address your commitments. Below are a few basic questions to clarify your commitments. These can be easily used when holding others accountable as well. You may, for example, use these questions at the end of meetings to get commitment and accountability.

  • State simply and clearly, what will you do?
  • When will you do it by? Look at your time and energy for completing the project/commitment.
  • How will you track progress or complete the project?
  • How will you communicate your results and to whom?

If you think about rating yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 on how committed you are to a project or goal, it might be revealing. You might find out you’re really not that committed and therefore struggle to get it done.

Mutual accountability

You may be accountable to others but at the deepest level; you are accountable to yourself. It’s true for you and true for your team members.

What happens if you don’t engage in full accountability? You and your team miss deadlines or make costly mistakes. You damage relationships with your team members. At the least, you lose trust. You may lose the respect of your team and they may be disappointed, angry or even resent you.

With clients, I’ve seen some people get defensive and blame missed deadlines on other people before acknowledging their part in the problem. It sets a poor example when we claim to be a victim or blame others when we should have held ourselves accountable — in essence, the knee jerk reaction was to throw someone else under the bus. This happens when people lose sight of their ability to make decisions and choices based on their circumstances.

How well do you hold yourself accountable?

When something goes wrong are you willing to say ‘it was my fault’?

Can you acknowledge when your actions affect others, and they have to do additional work to correct your mistake?

In an environment where accountability is high, team members feel free to speak to a person that isn’t performing up to the values and principles of the organization. This is typically a high trust, truth-telling organization.

No one should be exempt from being held accountable. If it seems like someone in your organization is exempt from accountability, ask yourself why. Often problems surface because you shy away from the hard conversations.

Mutual accountability brings the productivity and performance of the team to a higher level. Establish meaningful goals and get buy in and commitment before moving forward. Without full commitment it’s difficult to establish a culture of accountability.

Take it forward

Make accountability everyone’s responsibility.

Being personally accountable builds trust and respect with your team. It models accountability to those you interact with at work. Ultimately, everyone should be responsible for their decisions, actions and results.

Where do you need more accountability and what steps do you need to put into place to achieve your goals?