Accountability Is Not Pressure. It’s Pride.

There is a specific feeling that happens in a conference room when a boss asks, “Who is accountable for this?”

The room temperature drops ten degrees. People suddenly find the pattern on the carpet fascinating. Someone starts aggressively taking notes on a blank page. Everyone is thinking the same thing: “Please don’t let it be me.”

Why? Because in most companies, “Accountability” is just a fancy corporate word for “Who do I yell at?”

We have turned accountability into a horror movie. It’s the boogeyman. It’s the Principal’s Office. It’s the dreaded “We need to talk” text message from your ex.

But here is the thing: I love accountability. And my team loves it too. Not because we are masochists. But because we realized that Accountability isn’t about taking the blame. It’s about taking the credit.

The “Cheetos in the Rental Car” Theory

Let me explain this with a very serious scientific theory I developed.

Think about the last time you rented a car. Did you wash it? No. Did you check the oil? Absolutely not. Did you eat a bag of Cheetos while driving over a speed bump at 40mph? Probably.

Why? Because it wasn’t yours. You were just renting it. If it got a scratch, you’d shrug and say, “That’s what insurance is for.”

Now, think about the first car you bought with your own hard-earned money. You parked it in the furthest spot in the lot to avoid door dings. If a bird looked at it the wrong way, you came out with a towel. You were proud of it.

Most companies treat their employees like rental car drivers.

We give them a task, but we don’t give them the keys. We hover. We micromanage. We say, “I want you to own this project,” and then we stand over their shoulder asking, “Are you sure you want to use that font?”

You cannot expect someone to treat the company like a Ferrari if you treat them like a valet driver.

Stop Holding the Spoon

I used to be terrible at this.

I would assign a task to a manager, and then I would essentially sit in their lap while they did it.

Imagine trying to cook a nice dinner for your family, but your mother-in-law is standing behind you holding your wrist, guiding the spoon. “Stir faster! Not that much salt! Watch the heat!”

By the end, who cooked the meal? She did. If it tastes bad, whose fault is it? Hers. Do you feel proud of that dinner? No. You feel annoyed.

True accountability requires a scary trade: I have to stop holding the spoon.

I have to look at my team and say: “I trust you. Here is the goal. You figure out the recipe. If you burn the kitchen down, we will buy a fire extinguisher together. But I am leaving the room.”

The “Signature” Moment

When you actually let people own their work, magic happens. The fear disappears, and Pride takes over.

Accountability stops being about “Oh no, I might get in trouble.” It starts becoming, “Hey, look at this. I built this.“

It’s the feeling an artist gets when they sign the bottom of a painting. It’s the feeling a developer gets when they ship a clean code update. It’s the feeling my logistics team gets when they solve a shipping crisis in a blizzard without asking me for help.

That isn’t pressure. That is the best feeling in the world. It’s the feeling of being a professional.

So, here is my challenge to you.

Stop using accountability as a weapon. Stop using it to find a scapegoat when things break.

Start using it to give people their “Signature Moment.”

Give them the keys. Let them adjust the mirrors. Let them pick the radio station. And if they eat Cheetos in the car… well, as long as they clean it up before the Monday meeting, let them drive.

Because people don’t wash rental cars. But they will wax their own.

Regards,
Rupesh