I’ve watched brilliant fee and chief appraisers hide.
Not because they’re lazy.
Because they’re scared.
Scared of getting it wrong. Scared of being seen. Scared of not being enough.
But here’s the paradox:
Owning your mistakes builds more trust than pretending perfection.
The moment you say, “I own this,” something shifts.
Not just in the project.
In you.
Accountability isn’t about KPIs.
It’s not a corporate buzzword.
It’s a mirror.
And most of us avoid looking into it, because the reflection can be confronting.
But here’s what I’ve learned: the more responsibility you take, the more agency you gain.
In teams, when accountability is present, trust is built.
When it’s absent, resentment grows.
Silent frustration replaces honest feedback.
Conversations go shallow. Execution gets sloppy.
Appraisal often functions in the shadows.
Compliance-focused, risk-averse, slow to change.
It’s easy to blame regulation. Easy to point at complexity. But those are stories.
They’re distractions from the deeper truth:
We’ve stopped owning the outcomes.
We say, “We did our part.”
But did we elevate the conversation? Did we lead? Did we model excellence?
Accountability starts when you stop outsourcing your impact.
Try this: at the end of the day, ask yourself a simple question: “Did I do what I said I’d do?”
If the answer is no, don’t justify. Don’t spiral. Just take responsibility.
Because accountability is not about guilt.
It’s about alignment.
Between your values and your actions.
Your words and your behavior and your impact.
When leaders model this openly, humbly, consistently, teams rise. Culture elevates.
And real transformation begins.
This is the lever.
Don’t wait for permission.
Look in the mirror. Own what you see.
And from that place, lead.
