Closing the Execution Gap: How Great Leaders and Their Companies Get Results

The Bottom Line

For me, a high level of accountability often looks a lot like what we call “initiative.” At work, people who have a high level of accountability will take initiative to ensure the success of a project, provide early warning of potential problems, and take action to resolve a problem, even if it is not their fault.

Although we are aware that it’s important, many of us still hesitate to hold others accountable for their actions. In the heat of the moment, it may seem faster and less of a hassle to let something go or to wait and see what happens. However, those of us who are “one-trial learners”—meaning we don’t have to experience something more than once to get the lesson and change our behavior accordingly—know that this ...