The room was unusually quiet for a leadership retreat. The strategy had been clarified. The priorities were aligned. The vision was compelling and, on paper, flawless. Yet as the CEO stood near the window overlooking the city, he voiced a frustration many leaders recognise but rarely articulate. “Everyone agrees on the direction,” he said slowly, almost to himself. “But somehow, nothing is moving.”
That moment captures a leadership truth that is both uncomfortable and unavoidable: alignment without ownership is merely agreement. And agreement, no matter how enthusiastic, does not build organisations. Ownership does.
Last week, we explored how clarity and alignment accelerate teams. But alignment is only the beginning. The next and far more demanding leadership frontier is accountability. Not the punitive version associated with blame and control, but the developmental form that invites people to say, without hesitation or defensiveness, “This is mine.” Until leaders make that shift, progress remains fragile, and execution remains optional.
In today’s organisations, accountability has become one of the most misunderstood leadership disciplines. Many leaders equate it with pressure, surveillance, or consequences. Others avoid it altogether, fearing it will damage trust or morale.
Research from Gallup consistently shows that fewer than half of employees strongly agree they know what they are truly accountable for at work. Even fewer believe accountability is applied fairly. The result is predictable: good intentions, uneven performance, delayed decisions, and quiet resentment that erodes culture from within.
True accountability is not enforced. It is cultivated.
The most effective leaders understand that accountability begins with psychological ownership, not job descriptions or performance metrics. When people feel emotionally connected to outcomes, their behaviour changes. They anticipate problems rather than react to them. They self-correct before being corrected. They protect standards even when no one is watching. Ownership transforms compliance into commitment and obligation into pride.
Consider a manufacturing executive in East Africa who inherited a well-aligned but underperforming organisation. Strategy meetings were robust. Communication was consistent. Yet deadlines slipped, and quality issues persisted. Instead of adding controls or increasing pressure, he changed one leadership habit. In every review, he stopped asking who was responsible and began asking who owned the outcome. Ownership, he explained, implied stewardship and identity, not task completion. Within six months, rework declined, engagement rose, and teams began holding themselves accountable without escalation.
Leadership sets the tone for ownership by how responsibility is framed and reinforced. When leaders rescue teams too quickly, they weaken accountability. When they tolerate vague commitments, they normalise drift. And when they confuse busyness with ownership, they reward activity instead of results. Over time, teams learn not what leaders say matters, but what leaders consistently follow up on.
Accountability thrives in environments where expectations are explicit, feedback is timely, and follow-through is non-negotiable. It is sustained not by fear, but by fairness and consistency. People rise to standards when they believe those standards apply equally to everyone, including leadership. When accountability feels selective or political, trust erodes quickly.
The challenge for many leaders is emotional rather than technical. Holding others accountable requires courage, patience, and self-regulation. It demands difficult conversations and the discipline to stay present when resistance or discomfort appears. Yet avoidance is far more costly. Teams quickly learn what leaders will tolerate, and tolerance becomes culture.
Ownership also requires leaders to model what they expect. Leaders who deflect responsibility weaken credibility. Leaders who acknowledge missteps strengthen it. When accountability flows upward as well as downward, trust deepens, and performance stabilises. Teams mirror leadership practices, not what it preaches.
As you reflect on your leadership this week, consider these questions carefully and honestly.
Where have I mistaken alignment for ownership?
What outcome do I care deeply about but have not clearly transferred ownership for?
How often do I follow up on commitments with curiosity and clarity rather than control or silence?
Accountability is not about hovering or micromanaging. It is about clarity, rhythm, and trust. The most resilient teams operate with shared accountability, where peers hold peers to standards because those standards represent something meaningful. In such environments, leaders do not chase performance; performance emerges.
As the year draws to a close, many leaders feel the pull to push harder, demand more, and accelerate results. Yet the more sustainable path is often to pause and recalibrate ownership. When people know exactly what they own and why it matters, momentum follows naturally.
A seasoned business leader once summarised it succinctly: “Alignment tells us where we are going. Ownership determines whether we actually get there.” That distinction separates aspirational leadership from effective leadership.
Your role this week is not to carry more weight but to distribute it wisely. To move accountability from your shoulders into the shared hands of your team. To replace vague agreement with explicit ownership. And to reinforce that ownership consistently, calmly, and fairly.
Accountability is not a threat to trust. It is evidence of it.
Before the end of this week, identify one critical outcome your team must deliver before year-end. Have a direct conversation and ask one simple question: “Who owns this, and what does success look like?” Then step back, stay engaged, and let ownership do the heavy lifting. You may discover that the moment responsibility becomes personal, performance becomes inevitable.
This is the ownership shift. Lead it deliberately.
About the author:
Dr Toye Sobande is a strategic leadership expert, executive coach, lawyer, public speaker, and award-winning author. He is the CEO of Stephens Leadership Consultancy LLC, a strategy and management consulting firm offering creative insights and solutions to businesses and leaders. Email: contactme@toyesobande.com
