I believe accountability has gotten a bad reputation because we often associate it with punishment after something has gone wrong. But accountability can be much more empowering. Contrary to popular belief, we cannot actually "hold" anyone else accountable. What we can do is create the conditions in which people choose to act accountably. That starts with clear expectations, timely feedback, encouragement when people do well, and a willingness to address low performance rather than simply tolerate it.

For me, creating those conditions begins with setting a high bar while assuming positive intent. If I assume someone is lazy or incapable, I can use that assumption to excuse myself from giving them the feedback and support they need. But if I believe they want to do the right thing and are capable of doing it, I have a responsibility to give them clear direction, provide feedback, and expect their best performance.

I often demonstrate this paradox in my workshops by asking people to rate their organization's accountability from 0 to 10 and then rate their own personal accountability. The organization typically gets a 3 to 5, while individuals rate themselves between 6 and 9. That gap exists because we often fail to hold ourselves accountable for creating the conditions that produce accountability in others.

I also believe that failing to hold someone to a high standard can actually be a form of disrespect. If I genuinely respect someone, I believe in their ability to do better and I am willing to give them honest feedback. Ultimately, leaders are judged by the worst behavior they tolerate, not simply by their own behavior. Accountability, therefore, is not a final act of punishment. It is an ongoing process of creating an environment where people can and do take responsibility for their performance.

Key Points

Accountability should not be viewed primarily as punishment.
We cannot hold other people accountable, but we can create conditions that encourage accountable behavior.
Leaders must assume positive intent and believe people are capable of doing the right thing.
There is often a significant gap between how people rate their own accountability and how they rate organizational accountability.
Leaders must hold themselves accountable for creating the conditions that produce accountability.
Failing to give someone feedback or hold them to a high standard can actually be a form of disrespect.
Leaders are judged by the worst behavior they tolerate in the organization.

Quotes

"You cannot hold anyone accountable other than yourself."
"If we assume that people don't want to do the right thing, we let ourselves off the hook."
"If you truly respect someone, you hold them to high standards."
"Leaders are not judged by their best behavior. They're not even judged by their worst behavior. They are judged by the worst behavior that they tolerate in the organization"
"[Creating] accountability is a process of creating conditions in which people [choose to] act in an accountable fashion."

Accountability is often a dirty word in organizations because most people associate accountability with the action that is taken when something goes drastically wrong. But there's a whole other way that we can look at accountability that is much more empowering, much more productive, right? I mean, let's face it. When we think of accountability issues in organizations, we often think of holding people accountable. Why isn't somebody holding this person accountable? In my view, you cannot hold anyone accountable other than yourself. All we can do is create conditions in which people act in an accountable fashion or not. Now, those conditions can be created by doing several different things, being clear about expectations, making sure that people get timely feedback, making sure that they are encouraged when they are doing something well. And at the same time, also making sure that we don't tolerate a low performance and just kind of let the person off the hook. And when I think about creating conditions in which people operate in an accountable fashion, it has to start with
setting a high bar for people and making sure that at the same time that we hold them to high standards, that we assume positive intent and we assume that they want to do the right thing, right? Because if we assume that they are lazy and they don't want to do the right things or they don't have any capability, then we let ourselves off the hook on giving them feedback. But if we assume positive intent and we know that the person is capable, then it is only natural that we give them clear direction, we provide them with feedback, and we make sure that they are basically performing to the best level that they can perform. Now, in my keynotes or workshops, I ask people who say we have an accountability issue,
I asked them, if you were to rate from zero to 10, the level of accountability in your organization, 10 being absolutely amazing, zero is ultimate chaos and nobody's doing the right things and all of that, give yourself a score as an organization, but don't tell me. And then I asked them a second question. I said, I want you to rate yourself on your own personal accountability. And then I make a guess and I'm, always right in that the answer to the first question is often somewhere between three to five. And the answer to the second question is most of the time somewhere between six and nine. And so how is it possible that everybody in the audience rates themselves that high, but the level of accountability within the organization is always lower? Well, it's because we don't hold ourselves accountable for making sure that the right feedback is given and the right action is taken. I remind leaders that while I really believe in treating people with compassion and respect, we often miss this idea that not giving someone feedback, not holding them to high standards, or sometimes, as I said, we say, oh, bless his heart, he's never gonna do any better. That's a sign of disrespect. If you truly respect someone, you do hold them to high standards. And when you fail to do that as a leader, then you are judged by others by the behavior that you are tolerating. Leaders are not judged by their best behavior. They're not even judged by their worst behavior. They are judged by the worst behavior that they tolerate in the organization. So let's start thinking about accountability not as a final act of doing something negative to someone and start thinking about it as a process of creating conditions in which people act in an accountable fashion.