This article was originally published on Forbes.com on December 16, 2025, as part of the Forbes Business Council.
Accountability: it’s one of those words we toss around at work but rarely stop to unpack. Is it about taking the blame? Owning mistakes? Setting expectations? I hadn’t thought deeply about it until June, when I was asked to deliver a keynote on accountability for one of the world’s most iconic brands. It's a topic that, frankly, I’d never claimed as my specialty.
I hesitated. I love delivering keynotes. But on accountability? That would be a first. I know leadership communication well, but accountability felt like a side gig.
I asked for a couple of days. Then I did what I always do: dove in headfirst. I researched top frameworks, read a few highly rated books and called colleagues who live this work. What I realized, fast, was that as in most things, communication sits at the center.
So I said yes. And it turned out to be an incredible experience. I realized I had some growing up to do when it came to accountability, how I model it and how I inspire it in my team. The bonus? I got to work with a team that's incredibly passionate about delivering unforgettable experiences to their customers—and learned a thing or two about coffee along the way.
Here are my biggest lessons and a few simple steps you can use to bring accountability to the heart of everything you do. Because if there’s one takeaway I want you to remember, it’s this:
Accountability is how leaders turn intention into action.
Years ago, I read Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, former Navy SEALs. (Fun fact: Being a SEAL was a childhood dream.) My CEO recommended it, and it hit me hard. The core idea: Leaders own everything in their world. No excuses.
Later, a client told me she introduced that mindset to her team. “Everything changed,” she said. “No more finger pointing. No more blame. Just collaboration.” Here's an exercise from the keynote that shows why this shift is so powerful:
Feels powerless, does it not? You have handed away your agency. Now, reframe it:
“I own [what I could have done to guide, support or influence], which is why I also own [the outcome].”
Accountability starts the moment you stop pointing and start owning.
Think of expectations as a contract. Without a contract, there is nothing to enforce. In leadership, that contract is clarity. If expectations are fuzzy or implied, you cannot hold anyone accountable later because you never agreed on what success looked like.
Build the contract through conversation with three parts:
Subject: What is the focus?
E.g., “I want to talk about your team’s role in the upcoming holiday beverage launch.”
Message: Why does this matter?
E.g., “This launch is a big opportunity to drive excitement and boost sales.”
Call To Action: What happens and by when, and who does it?
The call to action is the signature. Without it, your conversation is air. A strong call to action is:
Clear: No guesswork about what “done” looks like.
Timebound: There is a deadline.
Assigned: Someone with the means owns it.
In practice, a vague call to action looks like: “Make sure the team is ready for the new holiday drinks.” A strong one could be: “By the end of the month, train all store partners on the holiday drink recipes and confirm completion in the tracker.”
When expectations are specific, timebound and assigned, you create shared understanding.
After 15 years as a communication consultant, I’ve realized something simple: People who truly listen tend to be better at almost everything. They’re better leaders, negotiators, teammates— and even athletes.
Take Messi (the best soccer player to ever live…yes, I said it). Before every match, he reportedly spends the first few minutes barely touching the ball, just watching, observing and learning the rhythm of the game. He’s scanning the field to understand where the space is, who’s ready for the pass and how the play is unfolding.
That’s the kind of listening great leaders practice, too. They should not just be hearing words but tuning in to the whole field: the skills, energy and readiness of their people. This strategy, which we use at The Humphrey Group, is called active listening—and it's the kind that goes beyond hearing words to truly understanding. It’s the ability to sense when someone can take the pass and when they might need coaching, support or time before they can.
Too often, leaders skip this step. They set expectations, ask “does that make sense?” or “can you do that?" and get a polite “yes.” But “yes” doesn’t always mean "I can do it." Sometimes it means "I don't want to disappoint you."
That’s why, before holding someone accountable, you have to understand what’s really happening on their side of the field. Ask questions that surface that reality, such as:
What’s in the way? This helps uncover hidden obstacles—or signals they’re not ready to take the pass.
What can I do to support your success? Builds partnership instead of pressure.
What will be your first action step, and by when? This turns intention into movement.
These are not “nice to haves.” They turn accountability from a one-way demand into a shared commitment.
These steps are a strong place to start. But there are other pieces that help drive accountability, and one of the most important is feedback.
As the keynote was wrapping up and I took a last sip of a very special coffee with soft chocolate and citrus notes that my host had kindly prepared, our conversation turned to feedback. Someone asked, “Can there be too much feedback?”
That’s where I’ll pick up in a future article: how feedback can become the engine that drives accountability and performance.