Accountability begins within us and transmits to our interactions with others. To own the outcomes is the most personal of responsibilities, such that….

“Accountability breeds response-ability.”
~Stephen R. Covey

A strong feeling of accountability fuels exceptional results, because it makes anything less than our best efforts unacceptable. As individuals, we discover greater capacity to accomplish more and to become more; in turn this elevates our value as highly capable team members. When working in the company of similarly-accountable people, a team delivers its best for those it serves. We can see dramatic examples around us in the training and capabilities of military Special Operations teams and gifted Medical Professionals. For them, accountability is a life and death matter.

Twin traits serve as hallmarks on being accountable:

• • Self-Discipline. It’s our ability to focus consistent and disciplined effort toward a clear and worthy goal that gets us going.

Without self-discipline as a foundation, there’s no potential result for which to be accountable. Once underway, sticking with the work that needs to be done is crucial and must become its own reward. To use a fitness analogy, you cannot achieve peak fitness if you can’t find satisfaction in the effort of an individual workout; the journey becomes its own reward. Results are cumulative.

• No Excuses. As difficult as it can be to exert a high level of self-discipline, it’s harder still to face results with no excuses.

Learning to look within, rather than look around for someone or something to blame, requires total ownership and honest assessment. Our outcomes are sometimes less than we expected, and often quite different than planned, but the ability to own them is key. In fact, it’s that level of clarity that provides us the ability to analyze what happened and learn from it. An attitude of no excuses will reveal hard truths.

The exercise of self-discipline and no excuses includes recognition that accountability is not about martyrdom. Accepting blame for everything that happens is not the point. Accepting responsibility for personal effort and related results is the essence that leads to true success.

Tempus Maximize!