Accountable leadership is when an organization’s leaders take responsibility for the results of their actions. For example, a leader that accepts the results of a marketing campaign they administered, regardless of whether it met expectations. Practicing accountable leadership helps organizations develop a culture of accountability where employees feel respected and valued.

In addition, accountable leadership improves performance and eliminates the time and effort spent on distracting activities and unproductive behavior.

Accountability empowers employees to not only recognize the critical gaps, but also employs creative troubleshooting to develop and implement effective, innovative solutions to existing problems. Finally, it allows members of the organization to learn from mistakes and become better over time.

Effective accountable leaders will exhibit the following behaviors:

• Take full responsibilities for decisions
• Take responsibilities for communication
• Think with a team mentality
• Run effective meetings
• Transform problems into constructive feedback

Accountability in the workplace is important for a variety of reasons. It results in higher workplace morale and lower rates of employee turnover, clearer communication and priorities, and improved work product. Good leaders will say “we” when successful and say “I” when the group is unsuccessful. They will give credit to the team and take failure of the team directly onto themselves.

Tips to improve accountable leadership skills include the following 10 steps:

1. Clarify goals
2. Focus on the future
3. Gather feedback
4. Provide honest feedback
5. Take responsibility for failures and successes
6. Practice workload awareness
7. Ensure effective communication
8. Organize goals according to team capabilities
9. Host frequent meetings
10. Encourage experimentation

A best practice for team accountability is to follow the 5 C’s listed below.

1. Common Purpose
2. Clear Expectations
3. Communication & Alignment
4. Coaching & Collaboration
5. Consequences

Additional Information & Resources

Articles

• Five Rules to Follow as an Accountable Leader
• Ten Steps to becoming an Accountable Leader
• The Five C’s of Team Accountability
• Tips for Holding Employees Accountable
• Importance of Accountability in the Workplace
• 40+ Reasons Why Accountability is Important
• The Importance of Accountability
• Why is Accountability So Important
• 10 Reasons Why Personal Accountability is Important

Videos

• 5 Ways to Improve Accountability in the Workplace
• How Leaders Hold Employees Accountable
• Holding Team Members Accountable
• Responsibility vs. Accountability vs. Ownership
• 5 Leadership Tips for Building a Culture of Accountability
• What Distinguishes Truly Accountable Leaders from the Rest