When Eddie McGuire fronted the media to announce he was standing down from the presidency of the Collingwood Football Club he took ownership of the results of the Do Better report which focused on the responses of the Collingwood Football Club to incidents of racism. In the end, McGuire took accountability for the report - its findings, and its ramifications. The same might not be said for government officials in Victoria who last year denied any responsibility for employing private security in the state’s hotel quarantine program, which led to the second wave of Covid infections.  The differences between these two examples point to a crucial, and sometimes misunderstood element of workplace leadership – and that’s accountability. 

Accountability is about taking ownership for results, good and bad, within an organisation. This encompasses actions, behaviours and performance and decisions. Too often, accountability is confused with responsibility. Responsibility is task-orientated – it’s one’s duty to complete a task or job at hand. Accountability is what happens after the task is completed. 

But why aren’t we more focused on accountabilities in the workplace? How often do you see a job description that includes a long list of responsibilities, but often makes no reference to accountabilities? And the same goes for resumes, where applicants will talk about key responsibilities, but rarely list areas of key accountabilities. If accountability is about results and ownership, I would argue it’s infinitely more important than responsibilities.  
There should be accountability built into every organisation, at every level. Every member of a team or employee must be aligned and should know, very clearly, who and what they are accountable for. Enabling and encouraging self-leadership is one of the keys to building an accountable culture. When you give people the independence and opportunity to think and act for themselves, the likelihood that they’ll hold themselves accountable is much higher.  There are some obvious signs that an organisation has an accountability issue. Here are some indicators: Deadlines missed repeatedly; same mistakes made; blaming others for mistakes and finger pointing; lack of discipline, lack of ownership and inefficiency at work.  When these issues are recurring or common in a workplace, it’s often a sign that accountability is low. 

So how can you build a culture of accountability? Some management models have been developed and employed over the years to assist with decision making in organisations and ultimately with greater levels of accountability. The RASCI framework for example, was developed by eBay when it was going through a period of explosive growth to assist with more intentional decision making and project management. This model RASCI – stands for R = Responsible – the person who does the work, A = Accountable – the person who approves the work of R, S = Supporters – some who helps but is not the mainly responsible, C = Consulters – experts who provide advice and I = Informed – people who are updated on progress.  I personally prefer an upgraded decision-making model ARSCI that which places Accountability above Responsibility and demonstrates that whoever is Accountable, is ultimately answerable for the project being completed and its success or failure. 

In my opinion, the importance of accountability is underestimated in many businesses, with too much time and importance placed on responsibilities. When there is clarity on accountability, it builds a culture of ownership, innovation and empowerment and there is a much keener focus on business outcomes. If you’re working towards building a high performing team, you need to measure the level of accountability in its culture. The first step to achieving the continuous and outstanding results we all desire is to honestly analyse where you stand – once you have that data, you’re ready to take your team’s performance and results to the next level.