Is accountability used as an excuse for draconian enforcement of arbitrary goals? We’re familiar with the insanity of wasted time spent overreacting to common cause. I remember the dreaded review meetings, spending all day listening to litanies of excuses, finger pointing, blaming others, and carefully crafted stories to explain lack of results, all of which only yielded confusion and an attitude of helplessness.

Has “Who’s to blame?” been replaced by “Who’s accountable?”

“When we are dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.”
—Dale Carnegie

Accountability should no longer mean “account for.” Accountability should be powered by commitment and hard work with a focus on current and future efforts, rather than reactive and historical explanations, with a mindset of reality, ownership, solutions to problems, and determined action that answer the question, “What else is it going to take?”

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