Confession: I used to think accountability was simple—just own the work, do your best, and deliver. But then I realized something uncomfortable: accountability is owning what you don’t control.

Accountability is owning what you don’t control.

That’s why your team hesitates. That’s why they squirm when you ask for “more accountability.” Because accountability isn’t about effort, or even output. It’s about effect.

And there’s no guarantee that wearing yourself to the bone, or even that backing up a truckload of outputs, is going to create the effect that you’d intended. Gulp.

“Accountability is accepting ownership for something you don’t control.”

Imagine how that adds up for the average employee. They work their butt off, getting stuck at the office long after the automated energy-saving lights go out. They produce the campaign, the reports, or the client presentations that they promised. Now imagine the needle doesn’t move. The sales don’t materialize. The customer’s behavior doesn’t change.

How do they feel?

Maybe it shakes their self-esteem. They’re nauseated and flushed in the face, feeling like they’ve made terrible choices. Questioning whether they’re cut out for this work.

Maybe it erodes their teammates’ confidence in them. Coworkers drop their eye contact and fall silent when they walk into the room.

Maybe it causes you to think twice about giving them a high-stakes assignment next time.

Each of those is a form of social pain: the distress of eroding our social connections. Social pain is as real and as physiological as any other form of pain. It’s the sting of being rejected, the ache of being excluded, or the bruising associated with feeling less than. (Yes, it turns out you really can have hurt feelings.)

Social pain is as real as a cut, a burn, or a bruise.

No wonder many people don’t want to accept accountability! Who wants to sign themselves up for feeling like a failure, especially if that failure means you let the group down?

As a manager, if you want people to take accountability, you have to create an environment where the risk of being accountable feels manageable—feels worth it.

Five Ways to Manage the Risk of Accountability

While the perception of risk exists within the employee’s mind, and you can’t simply snap your fingers to make them feel safe, there are things you can do to tip the scales so their confidence outweighs their fears.

Clear Expectations

Am I clear on the ask?

Would you jump off a diving board if you couldn’t see what was below? Just close your eyes and leap into the abyss? That’s what it feels like when you ask someone to take accountability without being clear on the outcome they are signing up to deliver. The more concrete, defined, and tangible the assignment seems, the more the person is able to assess the risk in advance and choose, in an informed way, to proceed.

Reasonable Stretch

Is it doable?

If they’re clear on what they’re signing up to deliver, the next problem is whether that stretch feels doable. That’s partly about how far away the target is, but also about how many other things they’re trying to do at the same time. The greater the focus you can provide and the more of their attention and energy they can dedicate to accomplishing the outcome, the more likely they will take accountability.

Safety in Struggle

Will I be able to get help if I need it?

Do you and the other members of the team have their back? Is this a situation where signing up is committing to going it alone (being the “one throat you’ll choke”), or one where they’ve got support in their corner when it’s needed? The more confident they feel that there’s a net and a spotter under the high wire, the more likely they’ll take the risk of ownership.

Feedback Before Failure

Will I have a chance to course correct?

Will there be feedback and data to let the person know how things are going? Will there be advice, support, and coaching about how to turn things around if they’re headed off track? Or will they be left to careen off the cliff with no advance warning? The more opportunities the person will have to understand their performance and its impact, and to make changes before it’s too late, the better.

Reasonable Consequences

Is the risk worth it?

Will achieving the outcome lead to positive consequences that are meaningful enough to outweigh the risk of the downside? Is there a chance of a gold star? Will the negative consequences of not succeeding be manageable? The more you can tip the balance so that the upside opportunity is worth the downside risk, the more likely they’ll grab on to accountability and run with it.

The Manager’s Math

In corporate life, we don’t calculate the risk of lost-time or life-altering injuries. We calculate the risk of irreparable damage to our credibility, reputation, and belonging.

So the next time you want more ownership, ask yourself: have I stacked the odds so the bet feels safe to make? Because accountability isn’t free. It’s a wager. And the leader’s job is to make it one worth placing.

 

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