Accountability

We love to talk about accountability. It’s such a fun, buzzy word to use in a phrase. Are we holding them accountable? Let’s build a culture of accountability. While this skill doesn’t need to be a philosophical masterclass, like any skill, we need to start with what we actually mean by accountability.

Some people have experienced accountability through the lens of “getting got” – they understand accountability as a means to get them in trouble, so they shy away from it. A definition of accountability that I have always resonated with is from Will Kenton on Investopedia, which is “the acceptance of responsibility for one’s own actions.” This seems so simple, so let’s look at what this statement implies. “Responsibility for one’s own actions” is being responsible for your decisions, choices, results, behavior, and the environment that we contribute to. It’s being completely in control of how you show up. While we all slip up and make a mistake sometimes, being completely in control means that we then acknowledge a misstep or failure and take responsibility for it.

Accountability for behavior. We hear people say “oh, I was having a bad day” or weaponize a situation by over-indexing on their feelings of “good” or “bad”. When people do this, they are not being accountable for their behavior. We all have off days but that doesn’t mean that you are able to treat others poorly and expect them to just let it go or trust you again because your day was off. When people over-index on feelings of “good” or “bad,” they are attempting to avoid accountability for their behavior or actions.

We are in control of how we show up. This is an easy one when it comes to accountability, but it is often the one that people are the least accountable for.

Accountability for decisions. Our decisions have consequences, and even if we didn’t intend for those specific consequences to occur, we are still the ones who made the decision. This is one of the risks of leadership, but if there is a great reward at the end, you get to take credit for that too. Oftentimes, people will select which parts of the decisions that they want to be accountable for, and completely avoid other areas. For example, maybe a decision caused a deadline to be moved, and we take responsibility for that but not for the financial implications of that missed deadline. Being accountable for a decision means that every part of the decision and the second and third order impacts of that decision and the things that happen along the way.

Accountability for results. Usually, we are responsible for the delivery of something or the results of something, and we need to be accountable for these results. This means that we take the time to understand the nuance of the results or deliverable, communicate throughout the process, and deliver what we said we would deliver. If something comes up, we communicate that, but we don’t shirk our responsibility to the deliverable or what we said we would do – sometimes things don’t work out the way we planned. We can leverage that failure as a springboard into what’s next or how we need to reshape the deliverable to make sure we can actually deliver it.

Improving our accountability

Accountability is a mindset and it’s a mindset that we can continue to improve. Like any other mindset, there are times when we can start using the wrong mindset based on the situation, stress, or the people we are dealing with. However, continually working the mindset and muscle of accountability will show us more ways to be accountable. When something comes up, consider your role in it – what parts are genuinely yours?

Regardless of where we are in a project or task, we can look at our areas of accountability and lean into those pieces.

Accountability Dial

One of my favorite tools for accountability is the Accountability Dial by Jonathan Raymond. It is something that I use within my team and that I discuss with other leaders as well. Conversations can get difficult and deadlines can be missed, but the Accountability Dial provides leaders an opportunity to check in on people in a straightforward and caring way so we can support accountability for tasks and for how people show up.

There are five steps to the Accountability Dial:

The Accountability Dial is not only leveraged for the accountability of those we lead, but it helps us as leaders hold ourselves accountable. We need to be checking in and keeping people on track before things go off the rails.  

Leader reflection

Here are some questions that you can reflect on to increase your accountability mindset.

* How do I personally define accountability within my leadership role?

* What role does accountability play in fostering trust and credibility within my team or organization?

* How do I demonstrate accountability to my team members on a daily basis?

* What strategies do I employ to hold myself accountable for both successes and failures?

* How do I ensure that accountability is a shared value among all team members?

* What steps do I take to address accountability gaps or issues within my team or organization?

* How do I balance accountability with empowerment and autonomy for my team members?

* In what ways do I hold myself accountable to the organization's goals and values?

* How do I communicate expectations around accountability effectively to my team?

* What measures or metrics do I use to assess and track accountability within my team or organization?

* How do I handle situations where team members fall short of expectations in terms of accountability?

* How do I foster a culture of continuous improvement regarding accountability within my team or organization?

* How do I encourage open dialogue and feedback around accountability among team members?

* How do I recognize and celebrate instances of exemplary accountability within my team?

* How do I ensure that accountability remains a priority during times of change or uncertainty?

This reflection should prompt you to reflect deeply on your own accountability practices and inspire actions for improvement.