Accountability and Psychological Safety

Accountability--answering for one's own performance--is a key feature of high performing teams.  The four basic steps involved--see it, own it, solve it, and do it--are necessary but not sufficient. The other key concept is psychological safety: the shared belief that it's OK to take risks.  It is a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass or punish its members when they put themselves out there.  When accountability is high, but psychological safety is low, employees are anxious.  They are wary about taking risks or seeking help.  When psychological safety is high, but accountability is low, this breeds complacency.  And when both psychological safety and accountability are low, employees are apathetic.  The best leaders create an environment where both performance accountability and psychological safety are high.  This powerful combination optimizes team and individual performance.