The Ever Elusive Accountability

Every organization I have worked with always struggles with accountability. Many list accountability as a core value or competency. Being accountable is about the actions you take. In essence, isn’t accountability doing what we say we are going to do? Yet organizations continue to have challenges with managers or employees being accountable.

Accountability is simply integrity. I recently went through a three-week program that restricted certain foods (mainly sugar). When I was talking about it with a friend, she asked why I didn’t just have some sugar. Who would know? The truth is that I did think about it for a minute. She was right, no one would know. And I don’t suffer with the burden of guilt like some others do. Though in reality, I would know. I committed to myself that I would do this program. I had to be accountable for my decision to begin and complete the program. So, no, I didn’t cheat.

Maybe we are so busy trying to hold someone accountable when the person we need to hold accountable is ourselves.