How to Develop Personal Accountability

To learn more about developing personal accountability, see our article at mindtools.com/pages/article/developing-personal…

Do you take responsibility for your and your team’s actions? Or do you become defensive and “pass the buck”?

Being accountable isn’t always easy, but it is important and worthwhile. It builds trust within teams, and can earn you respect. Use these six steps to become more personally accountable.

1. Know your role. You’ll need to understand your responsibilities to be accountable for them. So, ask your manager to explain them clearly.

2. Be honest. Set pride aside. If you need help, ask for it. And if you’ve made a mistake, admit it!

3. Say sorry. If something has gone wrong, and you’re responsible, then apologize. And show people what you’ll do to make things right.

4. Use your time wisely. People need to be able to rely on you to deliver work on time. So, avoid procrastinating and prioritize your tasks effectively.

5. Don’t overcommit. Taking on too much will likely cause you to miss a deadline. Be realistic about what you can fit into your workload.

6. Reflect. Accountability creates opportunities to learn from your behaviors. So, be sure to get feedback and ask yourself, “What could I have done differently?”