From Accountable to Responsible

Learn why it’s important for your team to understand the difference between accountability and responsibility.

It’s important to understand the difference between accountability and responsibility. Accountability is an external force. It’s where a leader imposes consequences for failing to meet obligations or offers rewards if you do meet them. Responsibility is internal. It’s being able to be trusted to do what’s right when you’re not being watched. This is where you hold yourself accountable and reward or punish yourself as appropriate.

Moving from accountable, which is that external force telling you what to do, to being responsible, where you’re internally driven for doing the right thing, will set a tone for your team. People will see they need to hold themselves accountable as well. They’re going to make that shift where they’re not waiting for you to tell them what to do, but instead they’re going to do the right thing because they know it’s the right thing.

You’re going to spend less time monitoring people and more time actually getting stuff done. People will do what they need to do without being told, and you’re going to improve the moral/ethical environment of your team. People are going to do the right thing because it’s right, not because they fear getting caught.

If you’re able to help your people see the difference between accountability and responsibility, and encourage them to make that shift, you’re going to free up time for yourself and improve the overall climate of accountability on your team.

Want to learn more about building accountability into your culture? How about taking an entire course on it? Check out the video below to learn more about the course and get started. Or you can go directly to the course and start learning how to build accountability into your culture. The entire course is available at LinkedIn Learning. Enjoy!

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!