Gaining Accountability
from Others
Dr. Gail Levitt is an influential
leadership specialist based in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.  She is an experienced
and versatile coach, facilitator, and
author with extensive work experience
in business management and
collaborative leadership. President
of Levitt Communications Inc. for
over twenty-five years, Gail provides
strategic and tactical solutions to
diverse clients on a variety of topics
related to influence, including:
managing up; strategic thinking;
productivity management; business
writing; negotiating; collaboration;
change leadership. Gail can be reached
at glevitt@levittcommunications.com.
© Business Expert Press 978-1-94858-014-4 (2018)
www.businessexpertpress.com
Strategies for Success
Gail Levitt
Abstract: This practical article explores how to gain
­accountability from others when following two ­different
paths to achieve this goal: compliance and c­ ommitment. It
explains proven strategies that any leader or ­professional
can apply for success. These s­ trategies are r­ elevant for a
position with or without formal a­ uthority within a union
or nonunion environment, and when communicat-
ing in person or digitally. The author ­provides relevant
­examples, case studies, practical tips, and useful templates
for ­immediate use.
Keywords: accountability, assertiveness, collaboration,
communicating assertively, communications, conflict
management, conversation planning, critical listening,
diplomatic communications, engagement, gaining
buy-in and commitment, influencing, leadership,
managing, negotiating, ownership, performance
management, persuasion, productivity, project
management, strategies, supervising, tips, tough
conversations, winning strategies
Workers Define Accountability Very Differently
Seeking another’s accountability generally involves the
expectation that the other person will acknowledge and
assume responsibility for a decision, result, task, or out-
come. Seeking accountability from others is a common
occurrence in the workplace. In my experience, it ranks
as one of the top challenges professionals face daily.
I  base this conclusion on surveys and interviews with
professionals I have trained and coached over the past
two decades. These people come from very diverse job
­functions, ­including customer support representatives,
administrative professionals, supervisors, managers,
technical and business specialists, scientists, doctors,
nurses, social workers, directors, vice presidents, CEOs,
government officials, and board members. Although
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 Gaining Accountability from Others
these individuals consider gaining account-
ability essential, how they define it differs
widely.
Some managers perceive accountability
as owning up to mistakes. Others I have
­interviewed consider doing one’s job c­ orrectly,
on time, and within ­budget as ­being ­accountable.
One individual ­explains accountability as
being willing to take r­esponsibility for a
decision, even if that ­decision turns out to
be the wrong one. Some office professionals
consider accountability to be one’s ­willingness
to complete a task on time as requested.
One senior executive defines accountability
as taking the necessary risks to achieve the
best results.
A business analyst I spoke to ­considers
­accountability to be more of an e ­ thical
choice, such as not taking credit for ­others’
accomplishments, work that the team
­actually p ­ erformed. One supervisor views
­accountability as simply showing up to
work on time. ­Another leader I interviewed
­interprets a­ ccountability as ­being open and
transparent about one’s a­ ctions, especially
when things go wrong. Yet another manager
defines accountability as one’s ­willingness
to put the organization and team ahead of
one’s personal agenda. Further, an adminis-
trator summarizes accountability concisely:
following through on your promises.
This inconsistency in definition could
be one reason why gaining accountability
from others is so challenging: Using this
same word in a conversation with a­ nother
does not guarantee that both agree on
­expectations and what it really means to
put them into action. So I like to advise
anyone planning a conversation about
accountability to follow these two guide-
­ teamwork. Commitment usually involves
lines to ensure the best results:
1. Do not assume that the other person
views accountability the same way, just
because you both use the same word in
a conversation.­
2. Be aware that your personal values,
­beliefs, assumptions, and biases regarding
accountability can differ from another’s.
2 © Business Expert Press 978-1-94858-014-4 (2018)
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There Are Two Paths for Gaining
Accountability: Compliance
and Commitment
When seeking accountability from an indi-
vidual or a team, one can use two different
strategies:
1. Asking on the basis of compliance
2. Asking on the basis of commitment
These are two different paths to take on
the journey to accountability, and each has
advantages and disadvantages.
Compliance usually involves telling the
other person what needs to be done and
­explaining the reason(s) why. Accountabil-
ity based on compliance uses an appeal
to an obligation to say yes, expecting the
receiver to understand the negative con-
sequences of not doing it. Some ­examples
are the need to conform to a law, a policy,
or a procedure. Gaining authority through
compliance can be very effective in issues
of employee probation, violation of legisla-
tion, lawsuits, or organizational ­inefficiency
based on people not following policies con-
sistently. Although this ­approach can work
well when it is explained clearly and dip-
lomatically, when it is overused, it can be
perceived negatively by the other person as
him or her not being given a say or choice
in the matter.
Accountability based on commitment
typically results from one’s own personal
decision to say yes. This motivation to take
ownership is usually based on the perceived
benefits of doing so. For example, some
personal motivators are safety, ­ security,
reputation, growth, quality, promotion, and
asking others to be accountable on the ­basis
of their own choice. This approach can
be more compelling when the individual
­being asked has the opportunity to decide
whether or not to make the commitment.
If one party expects accountability by
compliance and the other by commitment,
this can result in misunderstanding and con-
flict. Early in my career, I experienced both
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 Gaining Accountability from Others
during a conversation with my boss about
accountability for a deadline. I  wanted my
boss to alter the deadline to preserve quality;
she wanted me to adhere to the deadline on
the basis of the board of directors’ ­mandate.
I assumed that ­ asking for a ­ deadline
extension to reduce ­
­ quality risks demon-
strated a­ ccountability; she a­ ssumed that my
­resisting to conform to the required ­deadline
showed a total lack of accountability.
Confused, I explained calmly that I thought
that I was already being ­accountable by ­caring
enough to alert ­senior ­management that
more time was needed to avoid a risk in qual-
ity. I pointed out the negative impacts and
­repeated once again that I was challenging
the deadline because I was being account-
able by providing my expertise, which was
part of my job. My boss was not in a position
of full authority, and the decision about the
final deadline could not be altered. So she
chose to influence me to accept account-
ability based on my acceptance of decisions
that were already made. The more I tried to
negotiate a different deadline, the more my
boss perceived me as lacking in accountabil-
ity. I wanted more of a say in the decision;
she wanted me just to say yes so she could
keep the board happy.
It became very clear to each of us in
that conversation that we were both using
the same word, accountability, but we were
­actually speaking very different languages.
Fortunately, we had built a trusting work
relationship over the previous few years, so
we were able to express our views and reach
agreement. I communicated to my boss that
I felt as if she were telling me what to do,
without a choice in the matter. She shared
that she did not have a say in the choice
either and felt that she had to comply with
the board’s decision due to her lower level
of seniority. We finally agreed to a compro-
mise by extending some internal deadlines
while still complying with the final date.
Because of this tough conversation with
my boss, I realized that I needed more
training and development in how to gain
accountability from others. Eventually,
© Business Expert Press 978-1-94858-014-4 (2018)
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I created a useful checklist of eight winning
strategies for gaining accountability from
others successfully that works well for me
and the countless others I have trained and
coached through the years.
Eight Winning Strategies for Gaining
Accountability
The following eight winning strategies
work well when asking others to accept
­accountability, either through compliance
or commitment, in union and ­ nonunion
­environments, and with and without ­formal
authority:
1. Plan your message using ROBA
2. Appeal to self-motivations
3. Choose objective, neutral language
4. Understand without judgment
5. Ask Probing Questions
6. Think and say and instead of but
7. Self-Manage conflict triggers
8. Be proactive with an action plan
Strategy 1: Plan Your Message
Using ROBA
The ROBA model is a deliberate, ­sequential
thinking process for planning a conver-
sation with the goal of gaining a­nother’s
­accountability. It is an efficient and ­effective
way to organize one’s thoughts in four easy
steps to be concise and convincing to the
receiver. Each letter of this acronym repre-
sents important details that the other person
should be aware of to take accountability.
These four steps for ROBA are as follows:
1. Request: Make the request in specific
terms that identify who, what, when,
and where. This can be in the form of a
statement for compliance or a question
for commitment.
2. Outcomes: Discuss the end results and
measurements of success for the request
and get agreement that the outcomes
are important.
3. Benefits and Obstacles: Address both the
benefits and obstacles involved for each
party for mutual understanding.
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