“Accountability”: When Everyone Looks Away

Within one week, I heard three statements that stayed with me:

At an elite European business school: “We’re accountable for our students’ success in 5, 10, 15 years.”

From a senior official during a political interview: “Hold yourself accountable first.”

And from a coachee transitioning into a customer-facing leadership role: “How can I act with accountability, and be held accountable, when leadership above me avoids decisions and won’t take responsibility?”

At first, I was puzzled by the two first statements. Why did these truths need to be spoken out loud? Isn’t accountability obvious?

But the more I reflected, the more I understood: it’s not. Especially when things get fast, chaotic, or uncomfortable.

Accountability isn’t just taking credit when things go well. It’s owning our part when things don’t. It’s being visible when the outcome is uncertain. It’s standing up when there’s no guarantee of applause.

Being accountable means not hiding behind process, politics, or speed.

Holding accountability means creating the conditions where others can do the same; without fear, without excuses. So…

It is not about control.

It is not about blame.

It is the quiet decision to say: “This part is mine. I will carry it.”

And in a world that keeps shifting, where everything moves faster than reflection, accountability becomes harder to hold, and easier to fake.

But leadership without accountability isn’t leadership. It’s performance. And performance rarely sustains others, only the performer.

So yes, accountability is still worth saying out loud. Because too often, when the moment comes… everyone looks away.

#Leadership #Accountability #EthicalLeadership #ExecutiveCoaching #AuthenticLeadership #OrganizationalCulture #LeadByExample