To bring a new level of possibility into existence, we must develop a whole new capacity to be accountable. Accountability is accepting 100 percent responsibility for taking effective and productive action within a domain and accounting for your actions. There are two aspects to accountability—what it is to have an accountability, and what it is to be accountable.
Having an accountability is about the content of the domain (like an assigned job or duty or task). Being accountable is something you choose to do. It is an empowering way to relate to any domain in which you have a commitment (implicit or explicit). You can always be accountable, regardless of whether or not you have been assigned an accountability. Being accountable is seeing to an outcome regardless of organizational position, age, experience, lines of authority, weather, mood, whose job it is, etc. If one has an accountability, but is not being accountable, tasks can turn into obligations, resentment, blame and excuses can foster, and obstacles can turn into explanations for the level of performance. On the other hand, when one is being accountable, obstacles are simply part of the path to making something happen—there is no stone unturned as responsibility and ownership is self-declared and gives one power to act.
As you can see, this kind of accountability will revolutionize who you are—it is what will ensure your legacy and the full potential of your work in the world. Thankfully, we have each experienced this kind of being accountable from time to time, so now we have the opportunity to integrate it into every aspect of who we are and what we do. Where in your life, both on and off the mat, can you up-level your accountability?
