Co-Authored by Lauren Niemand & Michael Timms
In our conversations with leaders, we hear the same frustrations over and over:
- “We’re really busy and keep making mistakes that cost us a lot of time, rework, and strained relationships.”
- “When mistakes happen, people often point fingers instead of owning up and solving problems.”
- “Too many people here are complacent and don’t know what high performance looks like.”
- “Our team associates accountability with blame and punishment rather than continuous improvement and high performance.”
At first glance, these may seem like separate problems. In reality, they all point to the same underlying issue: organizations struggle to create accountability.
And recent research suggests this may be the single greatest leadership challenge organizations face today.
The Accountability Gap
Gallup reviewed three decades of leadership research to identify the competencies that drive organizational performance. Their conclusion was striking: a leader’s ability to create accountability is one of the strongest predictors of organizational success.
But Gallup also uncovered a major disconnect.
In their article, Accountability is Leadership’s Greatest Weakness, Gallup compared how executives rated themselves on leadership competencies versus how their direct reports rated them.
The biggest gap centered around accountability.
46% of executives think they are outstanding at creating accountability.
Only 30% of their direct reports agree.
What makes this especially revealing is that accountability was the area where executives and their direct reports were actually closest in agreement. They know accountability matters. They also recognize they aren’t doing a good job of creating cultures that support it.
So why is accountability still so difficult to create?
Why Accountability Breaks Down
As Michael Timms notes in his book, How Leaders Can Inspire Accountability, we all have a self-enhancement bias that “blinds us to how we contribute to our own problems.”
When executives try to improve accountability, they often focus on how others need to change rather than how their own behavior may be undermining the culture.
We see this dynamic play out in real time with CEOs.
During Michael’s keynote presentations, we ask executives a simple question using a live polling app:
What would you most like to learn about to improve accountability in your organization?
- How to improve your own accountability
- How to hold others accountable
- Which organizational changes can make it easier for everyone to achieve better results
Out of more than 1,000 responses, only 18% chose improving their own accountability.
That blind spot becomes even clearer when leaders begin examining the single greatest accountability killer: blame.
After teaching executives how to model higher personal accountability, Michael challenges them to pay attention to how often they blame others during the next two weeks.
When they return, nearly 70% report noticing themselves blaming others, and 64% say they were surprised by how often they did it.
64% of executives are surprised how often they blame.
By contrast, when leaders create environments where accountability is associated with learning, ownership, and improvement instead of punishment, engagement rises dramatically.
Gallup found that leaders who excel at “holding everyone responsible for exceptional performance” have teams that are three times more likely to be engaged.
Executives who know how to create accountability have teams that are 3x more engaged.
If you see an accountability gap in your organization, changing the culture begins with changing leadership behavior.
Closing the Accountability Gap
Gallup concluded that, “the cost of getting accountability wrong, and the upside of getting it right, are significant.”
The good news is that accountability isn’t complicated, but it does require discipline and consistency.
To create accountability, leaders must first elevate their own standard of accountability, as explained in one of TED’s highest rated leadership talks: How to Claim Your Leadership Power.
Only leaders who hold themselves accountable learn the right to hold others accountable.
One example is Efficiency Manitoba, whose leadership team participated in our Culture of Excellence leadership development program beginning in 2022. Senior managers completed the program first, followed two years later by frontline managers.
By the time frontline managers entered the program, they said the behaviors had already become so embedded in the culture that the training felt more like formalizing what they already knew to do.
That leadership example translated into measurable results. Efficiency Manitoba was recognized as one of Manitoba’s Best Employers in both 2024 and 2025, and their leaders achieved some of the highest scores we’ve seen on our leadership assessment tool.
As we tell our clients at the outset:
“Senior manager’s behavior establishes the culture.”
We’re incredibly proud of the discipline their leaders demonstrated in building a culture of accountability and excellence. More importantly, they demonstrate what becomes possible when accountability is modeled consistently from the top.
Where Accountability Really Begins
Accountability starts at the top, and it starts with you.
Organizations that build strong cultures of accountability do not leave it to chance. They create it intentionally through everyday leadership habits.
When leaders model accountability in how they think, respond, communicate, and learn from mistakes, it shapes how everyone else shows up.
If you’re ready to build that kind of culture in your organization, contact Avail Leadership to connect with Michael today.
