Accountability vs Responsibility: Moving from Outputs to Outcomes

This lesson clarifies the difference between accountability and responsibility and how the shift happens as you move into a leadership position.

Defining Responsibility and Accountability

As individual contributors, we do most of the work ourselves, such as writing code and creating tickets. This active contribution to a project is responsibility. As we move into leadership roles, we assume more accountability and less responsibility. Leaders are accountable for ensuring the work gets done. Accountability is about facilitating, supporting and sometimes, doing the work.

• Accountability: A sense of ownership over the outcomes—the "what" and the "why" of the team's work.
• Responsibility: A sense of ownership over the individual work items—the "how" of tasks and projects.

Moving into leadership is about shifting from focusing on the outputs to focusing on the outcomes of the team.

Case Study: Amazon's Two Pizza Teams

A case study illustrating the difference between accountability and responsibility is Amazon's "Two Pizza Teams", which refers to teams small enough to be fed by two pizzas, typically between five and seven people.

In these small teams:

• The team leader is accountable for the overall performance of the team, aligning the team's work with the company goals, securing the resources the team needs, and facilitating discussions within the team. As a team leader in such a small squad, there's a tendency to delve into individual contributor work, which is not what's intended in this model.
• The team members are responsible for completing the project and determining the best way to do so, based on discussions facilitated by the team leader.

Actionable Tips

• Define what you are accountable for: Facilitate a discussion with your squad on your role and their role and what each party needs from the other.
• Communicate clearly: Create a team charter that defines everyone's tasks and fosters open communication.
• Trust your team: You need to believe in your team's ability to complete work without needing to delve into the details. If you feel a need to delve in, identify whether it’s because your team requires support or due to your own insecurities as a new leader and address it appropriately.

Conclusion

Understanding the distinction between being accountable and being responsible is crucial in leadership. Constantly asking yourself whether you should be accountable or responsible for certain tasks can help you develop a leadership mindset. The shift to leadership often involves less direct contribution and more overseeing, coaching, mentoring, supporting, and facilitating.