Beyond "Holding People Accountable": A Better Approach to Performance
The phrase "holding people accountable" appears in almost every leadership book and course. Yet research shows that 82% of managers admit they have "limited to no ability" to successfully do this.*
The problem isn't with the managers; it's with the concept itself. You simply cannot "hold" someone else accountable. The reality: by the time you're facing that conversation, accountability has already failed.
A more effective approach focuses on creating environments where accountability emerges naturally. This requires three elements working together:
Clear Expectations - Specific outcomes that are understood and agreed upon, not merely assigned.
Natural Accountability - The internal drive that emerges when people feel genuinely invested in success, not forced compliance.
Meaningful Consequences - Both positive and negative effects that flow naturally from performance, not arbitrary punishments.
In this framework, accountability isn't something leaders enforce after the fact. It's something they enable by creating conditions where people want to deliver on their commitments, a natural accountability.
The best leaders don't waste energy trying to hold people accountable; people will be accountable or not, it’s very binary. Effective leaders invest their energy in establishing clear expectations, building commitment through authentic engagement, and ensuring consequences flow naturally from performance. When these elements are in place, accountability takes care of itself.
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*Overfield, D., & Kaiser, R. (2012). "One Out of Every Two Managers Is Terrible at Accountability." Harvard Business Review, November 8, 2012
