Transcription
So let's take a look. Accountability versus responsibility. What is the difference?
Well, I hear this a lot. Well, when you're accountable, you're kind of responsible. It's kind of like being responsible and accountable, right? Yes, sort of.
Okay, the way I try to illustrate it is with a simple story. We hire people, and we have responsibilities in the job descriptions, right? So, so imagine I was hired to keep this room clean. All right? And in my responsibilities, they were very clear. There were three things that I was hired to do: one, organize the chairs after every meeting; two, make sure the tables are clear of everything; and three, vacuum the floor.
If I do those three things, I get a performance review. My manager's like, "Clean, organized, vacuumed. Good job, Michael. Well done." I'm doing my job.
But one day, I'm going around and I plug in my vacuum, and the fuse blows. Okay? Is there any place in my job description that says it's my responsibility to fix fuses? No, it is not. So, am I not being responsible if my boss comes in and sees that the floor is not vacuumed? "Why isn't the floor vacuumed, Michael?" "Well, I plugged the vacuum in, the fuse blew." Am I not being responsible? I wasn't hired to fix fuses. What I'm not, not being, is accountable.
Okay, because what would an accountable employee do? If they plug the vacuum cleaner in and the fuse blew? Yeah, call facilities. Go over to facilities. Find a battery-powered vacuum. Get a broom. Get on their hands and knees and pick up the dirt. Those are all different levels of accountability.
Because this is what we look at. Responsibility: I have an obligation to act. I can measure that very easily. I hire people to be responsible for certain things. When it comes to accountability, I have an obligation to answer for an action. And guess what? I can monitor. I can reinforce. I can help you with your responsibilities. I can be clear about them. I can hold you to them. I cannot hold you to your accountability because accountability is a personal choice. You can't make somebody accountable. They have to want to be accountable.