Intentional Power

5Be Accountable: To Yourself, Your Company, and the World at Large

When it comes to assessing leadership, invariably accountability is ranked as one of the key attributes of a successful leader. How can you rise up the ranks if you don't deliver the goods? You've got to do what you say you are going to do. Full stop. And the faster, the better because faster means more near‐term profits for investors.

But when it comes to Modern Leadership that drives sustainable benefits for all stakeholders, faster isn't better, and being accountable to your specific job goals isn't enough. Widening the lens of what—and whom—you are accountable to is core to being a Modern Leader. With the right mindset and approach, accountability is an opportunity to stand in your power and live your purpose.

It's also an opportunity to build trust with key stakeholders. Business happens in an environment of trust. One of the essential ingredients for building trust is being accountable. If you don't hold yourself accountable and deliver what you've promised, then others can't trust you or their experience with you. If trust is broken, we can't do business together. This is as true for individuals as it is for companies.

Consider Black History Month celebrated in the United States in February each year, originally conceived as a political effort to foster equality by highlighting the contributions of Black Americans to the evolution of the country. In recent years, companies have used this opportunity to ...