What is a culture of accountability?

- Whether you realize it or not, virtually every project team has a team culture. I remember one client I had where most meetings started late. If the start time was nine o'clock, people might just be pulling up into the parking lot at nine o'clock. Another team I was on really struggled with dates and accountability. If a task was due on Friday, that was viewed as more of a suggestion. Turning things in late was almost expected. It was just part of their culture. Cultures can dramatically impact how a team operates. A team's culture is its collective personality and defines what normal looks like for them. More specifically, a culture of accountability is one where team members expect to complete tasks on time with high quality, be dependable and reliable, honor commitments, own their work and contribute to collective success. Obviously, these are the types of environments that produce optimal results. It's important, though, to distinguish a culture of accountability from a culture of compliance. Typically, anyone with a measure of power or influence can achieve compliance by exerting that influence. If an organizational leader announces that anyone who doesn't complete their annual self-assessment by the end of the fiscal year will not be eligible for a bonus, chances are there'll be a high level of compliance for that task. But that compliance is oftentimes short-lived and can even contribute to a toxic culture of fear. Achieving a culture of accountability is a much higher standard and loftier goal, why? Because it yields sustained behavior, higher levels of engagement, and a healthier team environment. Dale Carnegie said, "The best way to get someone to do something is to get them to want to do it." That's such an important nuance. It's not about getting the team member to always complete their task on time with the best effort. It's about getting them to want to do that on their own without external pressure or intervention. What's even better is that a culture of accountability can be very contagious. I've seen time and time again where a team member might be a bit of a slacker on a team with a more lax culture, but they step up their game when they join a team with a strong culture of accountability. That might sound great on the surface, but let's dig a little deeper to explore why accountability really matters for project teams.