Accountability is the obligation of a person or organisation to account for their activities, accepting responsibility to communicate the results honestly and openly. It is the state of being accountable, liable or answerable. Having authority or power denotes that the team leader will be accountable for the use of that authority or power.
Accountability without authority can prove to be very frustrating; it is difficult for the team leader to make the changes to drive the team and the business forward if they do not have authority to implement decisions. On the other hand, authority without accountability is potentially risky however; this is rare as a team leader will naturally assume accountability for the overall performance of their team.
Accountability in a team leader’s role can be crucial for building and maintaining successful work-teams. A team leader becomes accountable by accepting at least a portion of the responsibility for any problem with their area, including:
- Low Employee Morale
- In-Fighting Among Team Members
- A Fall In Productivity
- Failure To Execute Policy
- Rule Breaking