Accountability: Definition, Examples, & Tips

By Charlie Huntington, M.A., Ph. D. Candidate
​Reviewed by Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D.
Discover a definition, examples, and tools of accountability to guide you in being accountable.
*This page may include affiliate links; that means we earn from qualifying purchases of products.
I will always remember one of the first times I thoroughly took accountability for my behavior; it had such a profound impact on me that it changed the way I think about being held accountable.
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I was fourteen years old, at summer camp, and I had just jumped into the lake without permission from the famously reserved and stern camp counselor on lifeguard duty. 
When I surfaced, he barked at me to get out of the water and sent me away from the dock. I sat on a nearby rock and steamed about it for a few minutes… and then I realized I was totally in the wrong. I returned to the dock and sincerely apologized. I watched the counselor’s face soften as I spoke. I didn’t get back in the water that day, but I did begin to enter that counselor’s good graces.
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Even with moments like that in my past, I often find it hard to be accountable, as many of us do. Why is that? Let’s look at the nature of accountability, from its definition to examples to different ways to build accountability in your life.

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What Is Accountability? (A Definition)

We can define accountability as the state of being responsible for something and being judged by somebody else for whether you are meeting that responsibility (Cornwall et al., 2000; Ferris et al., 1995). Let’s break those two parts down.
 
First, there is only accountability when there is an expectation or an obligation. If there is an expectation that I take the trash out in our house and the can is overflowing, I am accountable for the full trash can (Cornwall et al., 2000). If no such expectation exists, there is no accountability on my part.
 
Second, there needs to be a person or audience evaluating whether the accountable person has met their obligations and accordingly rewarding or punishing the accountable person (Ferris et al., 1995). If nobody else is home to see the trash can full, I am not accountable. But once my roommate comes home, they are justified in passing judgment on my behavior – hopefully by reminding me kindly but firmly that I have not done my chore. Importantly, I can be held accountable whether or not there are extenuating factors – if I stayed late at the office or had a sudden family issue arise, I remain accountable for doing what I’ve committed to do.
 
Some scholars (e.g., Mulgan, 2000) have noted that in recent decades, accountability has expanded from existing primarily in particular circumstances and relationships, such as my commitment to my housemates that I will take out the trash, to being something that we all possess toward a greater public good. In a democratic society, we may be held accountable for protecting the common good, just as public officials and governments are.
 
Perhaps this is related to the fact that we can be held accountable for our beliefs and feelings as well as our actions (Tetlock, 1992). For example, if I hold an unusual or unpopular opinion, I may find that others see me as accountable for justifying that belief – they may see it as a social obligation that I defend my thoughts. This could particularly be the case if my opinion has implications for the well-being of others.

Opposite of Accountability

The opposite of accountability is impunity. Having impunity means lacking any responsibility or accountability for an outcome. For an easy example, think of the contracts you sign before you engage in a potentially dangerous activity. When I joined my climbing gym, I signed a long document outlining all the ways I would not hold the gym responsible for injuries I might sustain while exercising there. The gym owners wanted to make clear their impunity for all injuries, except those that are clearly caused by their own neglect – for those, they can be held accountable.

Why Is Accountability Important?

Without accountability, there can be little meaningful relationship between people (Evans, 2021). This makes accountability vitally important in our daily lives. If buses didn’t arrive on schedule, cashiers didn’t give you the correct change, and loved ones didn’t tell you how they really felt about your newest partner, you would soon have a hard time trusting public transportation, your favorite fast food joint, or your friends and family.
 
But for our purposes, as people interested in wellbeing, accountability is also important because it promotes overall psychological health. People who embrace accountability experience less psychological distress and fewer mental health disorders, have better quality relationships, and experience greater self-actualization (Witvliet et al., 2022). Research across a broad range of fields shows that accountability helps us forge meaningful social connections; in fact, people who embrace accountability are often sought out by others for professional and personal relationships because they can be counted on to meet the expectations of those relationships (Evans, 2021).

Accountability vs Blame

Accountability and blame are not the same thing. We can be held accountable even when we should not be blamed. For example, if there were no warning signs they could have discerned, an airplane pilot is not to blame for a malfunction in the plane. At the same time, they remain accountable for getting the plane safely to ground.

Accountability vs Responsibility

Responsibility is a key aspect of accountability. If I am not responsible to others in some way, there is no accountability. When I am responsible only to myself, there is no accountability, because no relationship regarding an obligation exists between me and somebody else (Mulgan, 2000). Remember, one of our preconditions for accountability to exist is that there is somebody who can judge whether the accountable person is meeting their expectations and who can then reward or punish that person accordingly (Ferris et al., 1995).
 
In other words, to be an accountable person is to accept responsibility to others (Witvliet et al., 2022); to be open to feedback, willing to explain oneself, and ready to take ownership over one’s role. People who are high in conscientiousness and openness to experience are more likely to embrace this kind of accountability (Nei et al., 2018).

Examples of Accountability

You can find examples of accountability wherever somebody is taking responsibility for their actions, regardless of the outcomes (Nei et al., 2018). When I apologize for not calling a friend when I said I would, I’m being accountable for the impact of my actions. When a therapist responds to their client’s concern about a lack of progress in therapy by starting a conversation about what the therapist can do differently, they are being accountable for their commitments to the client. And when a waiter offers to bring a new plate of food out to you, even though they definitely didn’t put that insect in your pasta dish, they are being accountable for their commitment to bring you a palatable (and hopefully delicious) meal.

What Is An Accountability Partner?

An accountability partner is a person who agrees to support you with a certain expectation. When we take on an accountability partner, we are creating a relationship around an obligation. If I ask a colleague to be my accountability partner for getting work done on a school project, I am not accountable to that person in the sense of being obligated to them. Rather, they are helping me create artificial accountability around a responsibility I have to myself.  ​

What Is An Accountability Ladder?

The accountability ladder is a helpful tool for assessing how accountable we are being in a certain context. Often, people adopt a “victim mentality”  by making excuses or placing responsibility elsewhere instead of taking accountability for their role. As one moves out of the victim mentality, one moves up the accountability ladder toward greater accountability.
 
Movement up and down the accountability ladder is important to consider because there are times when we quite naturally fear being accountable. In addition, there is a paradox to accountability: it is generally seen as a good thing to have, but we can respond in problematic ways to being asked to be accountable (Dubnick, 2005). For example, if I manage a team, I might “embrace” accountability by eagerly making certain decisions (say, the ones with easy answers), while passing off the harder decisions to other members of the team.

Creating An Accountability Plan

To create an accountability plan, you need just a few key ingredients:

1)    A commitment or obligation. For example, I could commit to calling one friend or family member a day for a week.

2)    A process and a person for assessing accountability. I could enlist a friend to be the person I check in with about my phone calls. We would need to operationalize the accountability process: Do I send a daily text? Do I call the friend with an update at the end of the week?
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3)    Consequences for the accountability. Perhaps if I achieve my goal, my friend treats me to ice cream, and if I don’t succeed, I commit to having a troubleshooting conversation with my friend about how to execute the plan better next time.

How To Be Accountable for Your Actions

Samuel (2012) suggests that the key to being accountable for your actions is to acknowledge reality exactly as it is. This means not engaging in denial about or trying to dispute the commitments you made and what you then did. It also involves critically examining your own thinking for points where you might be seeing yourself as a victim.

You can ask somebody you trust to help you review the facts of the situation. Based on what they are hearing, do they think you are acknowledging your responsibility in the situation? Are you resisting anything you need to accept? Once you know what you are accountable for, what can you do to resolve any responsibilities you haven’t fully met? What action can you take?
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For a review of personal and social factors that get in the way of being accountable and how you can work through them, you can also watch this video:

Video: What Are Obstacles to Accountability?

It is possible, over time, to build this skill of accountability until one develops a sense of responsibility not just for one’s formal commitments, but also for the overall well-being and functioning of all the spaces one inhabits (Wang et al., 2019). People who reach this state of mind are embodying the idea of accountability to society as a whole.

Quotes on Accountability

  • “The benefits and possibilities that are created by being personally accountable are countless.” – Jay Fiset
  • “On one side of accountability is courage, on the other is freedom.” – Jean Hamilton.
  • “It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.” – Moliere
  • “True love does not only encompass the things that make you feel good, it also holds you to a standard of accountability.” – Monica Johnson
  • “Good men are bound by conscience and liberated by accountability.” – Wes Fessler
  • “Having authority implies accountability. If you reject the blame for failures under your watch, people reject your leadership.” – Rick Warren
  • “A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” – Thomas Paine
  • “It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape the consequences of one’s acts.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  • “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” – Benjamin Franklin 
  • “Accountability separates the wishers in life from the action-takers that care enough about their future to account for their daily actions.” – John Di Lemme

Articles Related to Accountability

Want to learn more? Here are some related articles that might be helpful.

Books Related to Accountability

To keep learning, here are some books to explore:​​

Final Thoughts on Accountability

As we hone our skills and sense of accountability, we become more attuned in our relationships, more able to repair ruptures and build deeper levels of trust and connection (Witvliet et al., 2022). This is by no means a simple or easy process – I know that every time I need to be accountable in a big way, it takes a lot of time, reflection, and support. So I encourage you to engage in reflection and seek counsel as you contemplate what accountability looks like in your life. You might be pleasantly surprised by how supportive your close friends and family are of your process. You might even inspire them to consider their own relationships with accountability.

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