How you can build an accountability culture

According to Gallup, accountability is one of the most urgent competencies lacking in today’s workplaces. Fewer than half of leaders believe they are outstanding or exceptional at creating accountability, with data further suggesting that managers are even more pessimistic about their leaders’ ability to hold teams accountable. In an increasingly demanding environment, these gaps in leadership capability can have a direct impact on employee engagement and performance. So, how can leaders build a culture of accountability? Below, five experts explore its importance and share their practical ways to integrate accountability across the business at every level.

Leaders should hold themselves accountable first
You can’t expect to create an accountability culture without demonstrating what real accountability looks like as a leader. According to Dr Lilian Ajayi Ore, research scholar, executive coach, and co-author of The Power of the Learning Mindset, it’s more than a buzzword; it’s intentional leadership. “Being accountable means leading with clarity, consistency, and purpose. When leaders model it, the culture follows.”

Dr Ore says that to lead with accountability, you should establish daily habits that tap into both your internal and external motivations. She explains, “Internally, building in time for self-reflection, such as journaling, meditating, or exercising, helps us to reconnect with ourselves and strengthen our ability to lead with intention and clarity.” For external motivation, she recommends establishing an accountability partner with a trusted friend or family member. ”It’s someone who you can regularly check in with, share updates on your goals with, who can bring perspective, encouragement, and challenge you. Someone who can keep you accountable.”

Dr Ore states, “Leadership is contagious, and the habits you practise daily set the standard for your team – so when those habits reflect accountability, it becomes a lived expectation, not just a concept.” When accountability is embedded into your team and organisational structure, people become more effective, more engaged, and more willing to take meaningful risks, innovate, and grow with confidence.

Accountability is largely structural
For Ryan Alexander, author of Protect Your Mission, most accountability problems are structural, not behavioral. He says that if roles, decision rights, and financial information are unclear, accountability breaks down regardless of intent.

Within this structure, Alexander argues that it should be clear not just who made the decision, but also what information they used and what it was based on. “When there is ambiguity around ownership, or decisions are based on unclear assumptions, it becomes more difficult to trace the decisions being made and their impact,” he notes.

Many organisations try to enforce accountability after the fact through reporting. In practice, he adds, accountability is built upfront and reinforced over time. “These structures need to be clear across the organisation. Without that, accountability becomes difficult to maintain. That clarity depends on information that is usable at the time decisions are made,” he concludes.

Embedding accountability through compliance
Accountability without compliance is just theatre. “Most organisations talk about ownership, but without clear regulatory frameworks, defined responsibilities, and documented processes, no one is truly accountable,” explains Lee Bryan, Founder and CEO of Arcus Compliance and author of The Compliance Edge. Compliance creates the rules of the game. It defines who owns what, what “good” looks like, and what happens when standards are not met.

A strong accountability culture is built on visibility, which compliance systems create through audits, documentation, and reporting. That visibility removes ambiguity, exposes weak links, and makes it impossible to hide behind vague roles or shifting priorities.

Leaders often fail at accountability because expectations are not measurable. Compliance translates expectations into concrete obligations. When teams know the exact standard they are being held to, accountability becomes objective rather than emotional.

“The real shift is cultural. Compliance should not be positioned as policing. It should be framed as protection and performance. When teams understand that compliance safeguards the business, the customer, and their own roles, accountability becomes something they own rather than resist,” Bryan concludes. 

Accountability needs team-wide transparency 
For Reece Borg, author of The Hustle Mindset and founder of RB Business Consultancy, transparency and accountability go hand-in-hand to building trust. If you want to create a culture of accountability in your organisation, transparency must be a priority, not only between leaders and their teams, but amongst the teams themselves too.  

This transparency includes creating clear expectations. For Borg, not only does this mean that people can be held accountable for outcomes, but it also creates alignment within teams because everyone is aware of each other’s roles and how these contribute towards the same shared goals.

“This transparency improves communication, reduces inefficiencies, and strengthens overall business performance,” he adds.

“Ultimately, nothing happens unless someone takes responsibility and makes it happen. When individuals and teams fully own their roles, decisions are made faster, problems are addressed earlier, and the business moves forward with momentum rather than hesitation,” Borg concludes. 

Managers need the skills for difficult conversations
A critical part of building an accountability culture is having honest conversations, even when this may feel difficult. However, as Helen Beedham, organisational expert and author of People Glue, points out, managers can feel uncomfortable in these conversations, lack the skills and confidence to handle them well, and consequently fudge or avoid them.

“This is particularly common in organisations where a high value is placed on ’niceness’, courtesy, and harmony. However, other colleagues are usually well aware when underperformance is being tolerated and not gripped properly by the manager/leader, and this can cause frustration to build and drag the wider team down,” she notes.

“Whilst not easy, being able to offer constructive feedback, address performance issues honestly and coach direct reports to improve their performance are skills that improve manager/leader effectiveness and in turn, drive up job satisfaction, employee engagement and empowerment and ultimately retention,” Beedham says.

“The most effective managers are clear, consistent, and act with care, including a regular cadence of manager/team member 1:1 check-ins, ongoing performance feedback, and informal coaching conversations,” she sums up.