The obligation of an individual or organisation to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner may constitute accountability.

Brian P Moran defines it as “simply taking ownership of one’s actions and results.”

There’s always risk in our doings and we are the one who will see things happen the way we want them to be. The fact of the matter is that successful people are accountable.

Michael Hyatt considered the vitality of accountability both in leaders and in individuals. “When you make a mistake, own it. It will restore people’s confidence and increase your influence.” People around will respect you as it shows both humility and your willingness to learn.

A journey begins with the first step, and we’ll have to start with:

Learning responsibility is a must. Train yourself to be responsible before taking charge of a task; it is a way of thinking. One who is truly responsible, believes that overall success or failure depends on our action, even if we are working with a team or blinded by unforeseen circumstances.

A truly responsible person claims total responsibility, both the failures and success of a task but also deals with what is. It’s easy to claim responsibility when things go well, but it’s hard when they don’t.

Instead of figuring out who’s to blame or worrying about how things “could, would, should” be, it is best to deal with the matter that is at hand and find a solution. Hence, one must equip one’s self with the responsibility and the possible outcomes of a task and be prepared to own up.

Self-empowerment begins from within. Making yourself empowered is a risky action to achieve what you aim for rather than waiting for someone to drop it on your lap. Once you have accept responsibility, empower yourself to stand up and take a challenge, but ensure to always be accountable at the end.

We do need to be clear about desires, on what you need, what they need and what you can contribute. To do that, you have to make inquiries, make understandings, and clear up everything in composing. Otherwise, you chance enduring the wellspring of all mistaken assumptions will be missed.

But always remember to never blow your own trumpet about something you did! Keep stock of your personal talents and triumphs and let the higher-ups know who you are and how you are contributing.

And when a problem occurs, look first to yourself and ask these specific questions: What is the problem? What am I doing - or not doing - to contribute to the problem? What will I do differently to help solve the problem? How will I be accountable for the result?

The willingness to answer for the results of your choices, actions, and behaviours count. Do not be confused with responsibility , which is the mindset one must have before taking up a task, with personal accountability, which is the action of owning up to the results of the task. When you’re personally accountable, stop using excuses as a reason to justify your failure.

Be your own ‘accountability cop’

Be your own ‘accountability cop’ and police yourself even if nobody holds you accountable or nobody catches you. A little integrity won’t hurt nobody.

People around you may also influence your action. Some time we will sure meet people constantly shrouded in negativity and usually has nothing positive to say. Associating with negativity eventually reflect on ourselves, thus try to avoid or end up like such.

So replace the negative with a positive. It stops you from feeling unhappy as you have come to accept that you are now going to be solely responsible for how you feel, not other people or other external factors. Be accountable.

If things does not come our way, be willing to do something different. To get different results is to do things differently. Most of us don’t like to fail or seen to fail. To do so, we need to learn from mistakes and rectify our mistakes. Hence, it is important for one to be personally accountable as it not only ensures success, but it also builds character

AZIZI AHMAD is an educator.