# Accountability

> **Accountability** is a misunderstood concept. The Center for Creative Leadership defines accountability:
>
> > Whereas *responsibility* is generally delegated by the boss, the organization, or by virtue of position, *accountability* is having an *intrinsic sense of ownership* of the task and the willingness to face the consequences that come with success or failure.
> >
> > [From:](https://poornan.gitbook.io/thoughts-notes-and-collections/readme/collections/external-resources/trust-refs)
>
> Furthermore, accountable people “look out the window to apportion credit . . . when things go well, \[and] they look in the mirror to apportion responsibility . . . when things go poorly.”[11](https://teampublichealth.substack.com/p/leadership-is-getting-results-in-2f3#footnote-11-143858654) In other words, *when failures occur, actively seek full responsibility for anything we could have influenced* — we do not seek blame or look to “hold someone accountable” — we problem-solve and ask “how can I (or we) make things better?” *Then*, we can seek to improve the processes and systems that support self-accountability (including for teams) in a way that inspires trust.

[diffusion of responsibility](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility)
