How Accountability Works

Accountability is often misunderstood as confrontation. In practice, it’s a respectful dialogue that keeps commitments visible, supports growth, and uncovers the help people need to succeed. When managers embrace accountability with empathy, teams become more reliable and individuals feel trusted to own their work.

I use a simple two-step approach:

1. Gain a free commitment. Agree on what will be delivered and when.
2. Follow up with curiosity. If the commitment slips, ask what got in the way and how you can help.

Let’s break down each step in detail.

Step 1: Gain a free commitment

High-performing teams thrive when people choose their commitments rather than having tasks pushed onto them. Even when we assign work, we can invite agency:

“Alex, we need this change shipped by 5 p.m. today. Can you take it?”

This leaves space for Alex to say yes, ask for support, or suggest an alternative.

What if someone never steps up? Well you need to speak with this person directly - this is a coaching moment. Give them that feedback: “you are never the first to put your hand up, I need to see more commitment from you”. Be sure to share specific examples, and explain how it affects you and the team. If the situation does not improve, then escalate to your own manager and/or HR to help you solve the problem.

What if I need something now? You can do this by spending “boss capital”. Every day through all your interactions you are building “boss capital” with your employees based on how you treat them. The more horizontal your relationships are with them, the more you invest in their growth, the more capital you build up. When you need to, you can “spend” this currency, by asking directly - like before:

“Alex, sorry to derail you today, but I need xyz done today before 5pm, can you do it?”

If you have plenty of capital with Alex, and there’s no other reason Alex can’t deliver today, they’ll be happy to do it. If you do this too often without building up your capital first, Alex will come to resent you, and your relationship will sour, and the team will suffer for it. So be sure to invest whenever you can, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because sometimes you’ll need to spend it to avert a crisis, and over-drafting your relationships with your staff is no good for anyone.

Check for understanding. Don’t accept anything other than a positive affirmation of the commitment - neutral responses, blank stares, dead air, these are all indications the person either does not understand or has not truly committed. Ask for a clear response and invite questions - anything less than a clear, positive affirmation of understanding and commitment will end in frustration for everyone.

“I will have xyz done by 5pm today, not a problem.”

Once the commitment is made, write it down. Shared documents, task tracking tools, or even a quick message reinforce the agreement and help everyone stay aligned.

Step 2: Follow up with curiosity

If the deadline arrives and the work isn’t complete, start with a question:

“Alex, I noticed the change isn’t live yet. What happened?”

Because Alex volunteered, the conversation focuses on their own commitment rather than an order you imposed. This keeps the tone collaborative. You’re not demanding obedience - you’re helping them honour their word.

From here, the conversation can go in many directions:

• Life happens. Personal emergencies, illness, or unexpected stressors surface more often than we think. Offer support, redistribute work, and set the expectation that they ask for help earlier next time.
• Best intentions, not enough time. Maybe Alex underestimated the effort or got pulled into other tasks. Discuss what blocked progress, share the impact of the delay, and agree on how to communicate sooner next time.
• Skill or resource gaps. Sometimes the commitment was genuine but the path wasn’t clear. Explore whether mentorship, pairing, or additional training would make future commitments more realistic.

Throughout the conversation, give specific feedback: describe the missed commitment, explain how it affected the team or customers, and express your confidence that you can solve it together. Then set a clear expectation for how to handle similar situations should they arise.

Document the outcome - especially the plan for moving forward. Written notes protect both parties from misunderstandings and make it easier to spot patterns that need additional support.

Navigating resistance

Occasionally someone responds defensively - or even aggressively. Before reacting, check your own role: did you set a clear expectation? Did you confirm understanding? Did you confirm availability? If not, take responsibility and reset the commitment together.

If you’re certain the expectations were clear, remain calm and hold your ground. Ensure you are only making observations, meaning objective facts and circumstances. For example “the work was not delivered on the agreed day”, or “Kim had to work all night instead to get it done”. This does not mean you need to avoid emotional language, for example “the customer was furious” - assuming this is a fair statement, this is still an observation of fact and it doesn’t lay blame or attempt to manipulate narrative.

Refrain from making evaluations, meaning subjective interpretations of others’ motives, feelings, thoughts or intent. For example “you didn’t focus”, or “you’re not considering your team”, or “you’re just making excuses”. This kind of statement adds no value to the discussion, it’s antagonistic, and you could very well be wrong and this will undermine your entire position. Just one mistake of this nature is enough to permanently damage your relationship with your staff - and not just the one you’re speaking with, because this is something they share with their colleagues (and out of context).

If you are able to hold this line, and there is still resistance, escalate to your own manager and/or grab HR - it’s OK to call in backup.

Thankfully, these scenarios are pretty rare - as long as you’re being clear about commitments and expectations, of course. If this kind of thing is happening even semi-regularly, revisit your own role in the team and reflect on your own behaviours.

Make accountability part of your culture

Accountability is much easier when it’s woven into your everyday conversations and team culture.

• Model it. Share your own commitments and invite your team to hold you accountable.
• Create psychological safety. Make it clear that sharing deadline risk is not “failure”, and that asking for help is encouraged.
• Keep expectations visible. Document decisions, timelines, and owners so that nobody has to guess what success looks like.

When accountability is such a core part of the day-to-day, teams become more resilient. People know what’s expected, feel supported when challenges arise, and grow faster because feedback is clear, timely and specific. That’s the kind of environment where high performers thrive and developing team members get the coaching they need.

In this team people see deadlines and commitments for what they are - as tools of communication and collaboration - rather than a threat of consequence. If you are able to create and maintain this environment, even your most junior staff may surprise you by setting their own deadlines and upping their commitments, multiplying both the team’s growth and their own.