Learn the difference between accountability and responsibility — and why building a more accountable team starts with what you do as a leader.

Do you want your team to be more accountable?

If you’re like most of the CEOs I work with, you do.

You want clear ownership. You want clear communication. You want consequences for missing targets.

But here’s what most CEOs miss: holding accountability is your responsibility, not theirs.

In this essay, I’ll explain the difference between accountability and responsibility, and share the questions you need to ask to make sure you’re doing your part.

What is accountability?

I define accountability as the ability to account for one’s actions and decisions.

There are two sides to accountability: 

• Being accountable: that’s the person giving an account.
• Holding someone accountable: that’s the person they are giving it to.

The most common form of accountability is a report that shows:

1. The numbers
2. The story behind them. 

In fact, the word account can refer to numbers (think accounting) or stories (an account of what happened).

Reporting is powerful because it forces people to check in on their goals, what they’ve done, and what to do next. And great reports can create a self-managing system where the report does a lot of the heavy-lifting.

Accountability has benefits: it helps people remember and focus on their goals, and it can maximise their learning. Plus, it keeps stakeholders informed.

However, accountability is only half of the equation.

The other part is responsibility, and without it, accountability isn’t nearly as helpful.

What is responsibility?

I define responsibility as the ability to respond with effective actions and decisions.

So is the manager or the teammate responsible for getting results? 

This needs to be crystal clear:

• Your team is responsible for getting results.
• You are responsible for the team itself.

Your team is responsible for planning their work, making commitments, and solving problems in order to get results.

However, you are responsible for selecting the right people, communicating expectations, and supporting them as best you can.

Accountability is a service. It’s goal is to increase a person’s level of responsibility.

Haven’t you craved some accountability so you followed through on something important?

It actually starts with you, not them.

The first step in driving accountability is to check in with your responsibilities first: 

• Have you selected the right people? 
• Have you communicated expectations? 
• Have you supported them and provided them with accountability?

Because the consequences you want aren’t actually on them, they are on you.

Answering these questions? That’s accountability.

Actually doing something about them? That’s taking responsibility.

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Originally published on February 25th, 2026

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