Responsibility and Accountability

Definitions:

Responsibility is a term that applies to anyone who is in charge of an endeavor or to whom a duty has been delegated. (example: She is responsible for getting everyone out of the building in the event of a fire).

In the above example the woman has been assigned responsibility for getting people out of a building in case of a fire. Whether the woman will or will not assume her responsibility is another matter. To be truly responsible is to assume it. A higher level of responsibility is one we assume without having someone else assign it to us, such as assuming responsibility for our own lives, for always speaking the truth, for taking out the garbage without waiting to be asked, etc. Most people, when given a responsibility are not truly responsible. The may drop their responsibility if they think it is convenient or if they find the responsibility too challenging or if they meet an obstacle. To be truly responsible means not to quit until the goal is achieved or the task is accomplished. It also means to complete the task or reach the goal at 100%. It means to be impeccable rather than sloppy, incomplete or doing just enough to avoid blame. To be truly responsible is to be a spiritual warrior. Quitters and avoiders are, in comparison, cowards and untrustworthy. No one wins with a quitter, but the quitter is the biggest loser of all.

There is a story about Socrates which demonstrates true responsibility. Socrates was the father of Western philosophy who spent most of his time engaged in dialogues with the young men of Athens. As a citizen of Athens he was expected to defend the city in case of war. However, as an old man he could have avoided going to war, pleading weakness and frailty. A fellow citizen witnessed the elderly Socrates voluntarily marching into battle with the Athenian army. The witness was impressed to observe Socrates walking vigorously all day, carrying his own weapons, never complaining or appearing tired, totally alert, constantly looking from left to right in case of a surprise attack, energetic, steady, showing no sign of fear, ready to fight, and setting a powerful example for the younger soldiers. Socrates was not simply a talker, he was a true warrior and exemplar who never abdicated his responsibility as an Athenian citizen.

Accountability is more directly specific than responsibility, meaning that something has been entrusted to someone who will be called to account for how that trust has been carried out (example: She was directly accountable to the department head for the funds that had been allocated to her group).

To be accountable implies that we have committed ourselves to get a specific task or job done. This commitment means a promise to another person (e.g., a manager) to produce an agreed upon result. Accountability is essential in any organization or group project, because the success of the endeavor depends upon each member fulfilling his or her task at 100%. For example, if ten people are working on a common project and nine of those people do their job at 100%, while the tenth does his job at only 50%, a breakdown will occur with the tenth person and the whole project will suffer. This is the meaning of the expression: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Only those who are truly responsible will be truly accountable. Such people put their word ahead of their personal comfort or convenience. They do not quit until the goal is done or the task completed. Those who honor their word as their life achieve greatness, while who do not live mediocre lives.