Accountability 101: Installment #4 - THE ACCOUNTABILITY CREDO

When it comes to accountability as we’ve defined it…

Personal Accountability is doing the right thing, consistently, day after day, in both tasks and relationships, to live the mission and values of the organization and advance its vision.

…my bottom line is that, to a large extent, personal accountability can be learned and is a choice that adults can intentionally make!

Because it is a choice, to be “fearlessly accountable” requires some work. It’s not always easy to simply “do the right thing.” But what if we had a guide to help us, especially when something happens that lies in that very “gray” area between right and wrong?

To that end, I have created an Accountability Credo. A credo is a statement of the beliefs or aims that guide someone’s actions. To have a workplace in which most/all people are accountable we must begin by recognizing and adopting the following beliefs:

• We are a group of capable adults.
• Most people want to do credible work. They want to be good, even great at work.
• We ultimately choose or decide how to ‘be’ at work.
• Accountability is an adult choice.
• Our shared responsibility is to co-create the environmental conditions that foster and reward that choice so that it’s embedded in the very fiber, the DNA, of the organization.

Think of the Accountability Credo as the magnetic needle of an ‘Accountability Compass.’ It helps point the way towards right action. Like the definition of accountability, it is simple and straightforward, but it is not always easy to do because, for some, it pushes our buttons by fundamentally challenging our current ways of thinking, acting and believing.

Here is your challenge: Allow the Accountability Credo to become your statement of belief that guides your everyday actions. See yourself and others as everyday heroes and think of accountability as your superpower! It may just be a power that can change your world.


If you like the idea of an Accountability Credo, then check out our Accountability Credo poster.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE AN OWN IT! ACCOUNTABILITY CREDO POSTER