From the course: Holding Yourself Accountable

Responsibility vs. accountability

From the course: Holding Yourself Accountable

Start my 1-month free trial Buy for my team

Responsibility vs. accountability

“

- The difference between responsibility and accountability might seem small at first, a semantic twist, but it's not. It's a crucial difference in mindset. Multiple people can be responsible for something. The team might be responsible for a certain project or you and your fellow managers might be responsible for coming up with a proposal around the new incentive plan. But one person is accountable. Meaning they're held to account if something succeeds or fails. That feels serious and it is serious. Now the default is that the most senior person is held accountable. If a reporter really screws up a news story, for instance, his editor might resign, because in theory, the editor is supposed to have been supervising him. So if you're the leader of a team or division or company, accountability is in some ways baked into your job description. But what we're talking about here, and the important thing you should know before watching this, is that any successful professional at any level can succeed by choosing to hold themselves accountable. If you raise the stakes on yourself, if you say, "This project will not fail, not on my watch," that's extra work and it's extra stress. But it's also extra reward because you're treating that assignment and responsibility differently than anyone else. Your level of commitment is going to be obvious to anyone looking. And when the time comes for promotions, for raises, who are they going to look to? The person who's already demonstrated that they're comfortable taking on the heightened accountability that comes with leadership. I want that person to be you.

Contents