The difference between Accountability and Responsibility

Filed under: accountability, reponsibility

You can delegate responsibility, but you can’t delegate accountability to anyone.

If someone gives you a job to do, you can get someone else to do it, but you are still accountable to produce the results. If the job isn’t done right the only person to blame is you, because even though you’ve delegated the responsibility, you are still accountable.

5 Responses for "The difference between Accountability and Responsibility"

Muhammad Aftab Khan
September 1st, 2008 at 5:21 am
There is a thin line between Accountability and Responsibility which most people (specially senior managers) fail to understand

pip
October 1st, 2008 at 2:00 am
Perfect answer. Brill!!

Nihia
November 10th, 2008 at 2:26 am
You cannot delegate either responsibilty or accountability where the buck stops at you. You can delegate tasks related to the programme or project but both accountability & responsibilty for the overall outcome remains with you. The person/s to whom you delegated a task or tasks is accountable to you for the standard of his work, but it’s your guts that will get kicked in if you made a poor choice of task-ee where the project becomes flawed. Of course, if the project is a resounding success you will receive the honours.

vattey
June 2nd, 2009 at 2:37 pm
dear!
i’m Cambodian. i hope you will give more exact meaning about the difference between accountability and responsibility. thank anyways i got some information about it.

hope good luck will follow you all the time.

Richard
August 11th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
For me, it all depends on the understanding between the delegator and the person to whom the job/task is delegated.

Ultimately, there has to be trust that the person to whom I have just assigned something will complete it effectively and to my satisfaction. If not, it doesn’t matter what we call it - failure to deliver has to have consequences. My boss will address it with me, and I will likewise do so with my team member/subordinate.

It boils down to this: never delegate something to someone in whom you do not have confidence, and make sure you check in to see how it is going as time passes.

Trust is essential - but blind faith is just dumb.