Episode 5 - What is this 'accountability' thing that everyone is after?

In this episode, we turn our attention to accountability - a word that gets used constantly in organisations, yet often means very different things to different people. Leaders talk about wanting more accountability in their teams, while at the same time grappling with how accountable they feel themselves. So we start by asking a simple question: what is this accountability thing everyone is actually after?

Our conversation weaves in and out of our own experiences and what we see playing out across organisations every day. We explore what needs to be in place for accountability to genuinely exist - clarity of expectations, trust, safety, and ownership - and what’s often absent when accountability starts to wobble. Rather than seeing accountability as something that can be demanded or enforced, we reflect on how it tends to emerge when the conditions are right.

This episode will likely resonate with leaders who feel frustrated by a perceived lack of accountability in their teams, as well as with anyone reflecting on their own relationship with responsibility, ownership, and follow-through at work. It’s not about blame or performance management - it’s an invitation to think differently about what accountability really looks like in practice.