Accountability

#accountability #responsibility #improvement

By the grace of God, I can say that in my 75 years of life, I have seen my share of successes. I found a lovely wife and raised two beautiful children while maintaining a busy medical practice. By all accounts, I have lived a blessed life, but not a perfect life, of course, so I am also keenly aware of what it is like to fail. Thankfully, I don’t often encounter people who are interested in hearing about my failures, but I am frequently asked the secret to my success. While I don’t know that there is any secret, as such, I do absolutely believe that there are some necessary ingredients to living a happy and fulfilled life, and that economic wealth flows from wealth of character. I tend to phrase my advice something like this: “Be true to yourself and do what you love, and the money will follow.” I stand by this guidance wholeheartedly, but I have come to realize that this advice assumes the listener has a strong sense of self-awareness, which is often not the case. An individual who has not yet reserved the time for deep introspection will benefit much more from a breakdown of those ingredients I mentioned earlier—those essential elements of character that provide a strong foundation for personal and economic fulfillment. Today, I will address the trait that is perhaps in the shortest supply of all in our society at present: accountability.

I will begin with a definition, because I fear that accountability may be in such short supply these days that a good number of people are not quite certain what it is. Accountability refers to the ability to take responsibility for one’s own actions and be truthful with oneself. Accountability is therefore closely tied to truth; that is, how things really are, not how one would prefer for them to be.

Accountability and responsibility are closely-related traits, but they are not the same. While responsibility concerns carrying out tasks in accordance with a given set of rules, accountability deals with accepting the results of these tasks once performed. This means that if we conduct ourselves in a responsible manner, we are unlikely to find ourselves accountable for having acted in error. Much of the pain associated with having to own up to blunders can be eliminated by agreeing to work within the prescribed ruleset, but we are only human, and errors will inevitably be made. Success in both personal and business relationships depends not on being perfect in all situations at all times; rather it is contingent on recognizing and taking accountability for our mistakes. Our first instinct when confronted with a situation in which we realize we have erred should not be to look for excuses, to pass the buck, or to become argumentative. Instead, even if it is embarrassing and painful, we should recognize and, when possible, seek to remedy our mistakes. Doing so will in fact minimize our state of agitation, and allow us to learn from the experience.

Taking accountability for our mistakes helps us build strong relationships. Owning up to one’s mistakes, rather than looking for excuses, projects a desire to keep one’s promises and follow through on one’s commitments. This allows others to trust us, which is an essential component of any healthy relationship—business or otherwise. Accountability can only take place at a personal level; it cannot be imposed upon a person. As such, failure to take ownership for one’s behavior is an extremely unattractive practice that often precipitates acrimonious reprisals from one’s peers. This is decidedly not conducive to success, as there are few faster ways to burn bridges.

Those who are responsible and accountable for their actions are more likely to achieve their goals, as they have not only the discipline and motivation to see things through, but the humility to learn from the mistakes they will inevitably commit along the way. These traits also lead to increased opportunities, as others are more likely to want to work with those who they know they can rely on.

Responsibility and accountability have been clinically proven to increase happiness levels as well. This is likely due to the fact that when we act responsibly, we tend to feel a greater sense of control over our lives. We also tend to feel proud of our accomplishments and have a stronger sense of purpose in life. Likewise, we are accountable for our actions, the problems that are incurred as a result of our errors are dealt with expediently, not left to fester and wear on our emotional wellbeing.

Ultimately, while there is no single magic word to guarantee financial and personal success in life, there are certainly a few words we would do better to keep in mind at all times, and “accountability” should sit very near the top of the list. In the same way that we would never reasonably expect perfection from others, we cannot expect that we ourselves will consistently act without error. Similarly, we should consider that as we would not condemn others for their mistakes, we will not be denounced for ours. A failure to excuse an error made in good faith is more telling of the offended than the offender. On either side of the equation, whether you are the one in error or the one called upon to forgive, there is likely to be some degree of pain involved. But imagine a world in which we all chose to accept this momentary discomfort in lieu of a lifetime of angst.

What very successful people we would be.