I used to think accountability was about setting standards for others and making sure they met them. I was wrong.
"How can you hold others accountable if you don't hold yourself accountable first?" That question became a turning point for me.
For most of my career, I struggled with holding my team accountable. I'd set expectations, watch them go unmet, and feel frustrated but avoid addressing the gaps directly. A friend of mine, Jeff Parks (a Coast Guard veteran), would regularly ask why I wasn't holding my team members accountable.
I'd brush off his question, pointing to timing, circumstances, or team dynamics. But Jeff kept asking because he saw something I hadn't yet. I wasn't holding myself accountable first.
Today, I help founders become what we call Ready Founders™, business leaders prepared for any opportunity or challenge that comes their way. But I learned the hard way that you can't become a Ready Founder™ until you master self-accountability first.
I began to understand the importance of self-accountability during a particularly challenging stretch in my previous company. We were juggling tight timelines, managing client concerns, and trying to keep the team motivated. I found myself looking around for answers, trying to figure out what wasn't working, when I had to face a hard truth. I couldn't expect my team to be accountable if I wasn't holding myself to the same standard.
I wasn't following through on my own commitments. I was making excuses for my missed deadlines. I was avoiding difficult conversations about performance (both my own and others'). I was asking my team to be accountable to standards I wasn't meeting myself.
That realization changed everything.
Self-accountability isn't just about personal integrity, though that's important. It's about creating the foundation for everything else you want to build in your organization.
When I started holding myself accountable first, several things shifted:
My standards became clear. I couldn't ask for what I wasn't willing to give. Once I started meeting my commitments consistently, my expectations for others became non-negotiable rather than suggestions.
My team respected the standards. There's something powerful about a leader who models the behavior they expect. When team members see you doing what you ask them to do, resistance disappears.
Difficult conversations became easier. When you're holding yourself to the same standard, accountability conversations shift from criticism to coaching. You're not pointing fingers; you're solving problems together.
For Ready Founders™, self-accountability shows up in specific, measurable ways:
Financial transparency with yourself. You can't make good decisions with bad data, and you can't expect your team to be precise if you're accepting "close enough" in your own financial reviews. Understanding your real-time financial position is the foundation.
Following through on commitments. If you tell an investor you'll send financials by Friday, you send them by Friday. If you promise your team a decision by Monday, you deliver by Monday.
Addressing problems directly. When cash flow is tight, you face it head-on rather than hoping it resolves itself. When a team member isn't performing, you have the conversation rather than working around them.
Taking responsibility for outcomes. When something goes wrong, your first question is "What could I have done differently?" not "Who messed this up?"
The most surprising thing about accepting self-accountability was how it transformed our entire culture. When I started holding myself to higher standards, my team naturally began holding themselves (and each other) to higher standards too.
Our client relationships improved because we were delivering on our promises consistently. Our team relationships strengthened because everyone knew what was expected and that those expectations applied equally to everyone. Our business results improved because we were addressing problems quickly rather than letting them linger.
Looking back, I can see how much my avoidance of self-accountability cost us. Not just in business outcomes, but in relationships, trust, and opportunities.
When leaders don't hold themselves accountable, it creates a culture where mediocrity is acceptable and excellence is optional.
The math is simple: if you can't count on yourself to follow through, why should anyone else count on you?
If you recognize yourself in my earlier struggles, here's how to start building a culture of accountability:
Start with yourself. Make commitments to yourself and keep them. Track your follow-through rate on promises made to your team, clients, and stakeholders.
Be transparent about your standards. Share what you're holding yourself accountable for, and invite your team to help you maintain those standards.
Address gaps immediately. When you miss a commitment (to yourself or others), acknowledge it quickly and fix it. Don't let missed commitments become normal.
Create systems for accountability. Use tools, processes, and regular check-ins that make accountability easier for everyone, starting with you.
Find an accountability partner. Recently, I had Laura Yang Renner—Freedom Makers Virtual Services, a fellow veteran entrepreneur—on the MILCOM Founders podcast. She shared something that highlighted why accountability partnerships work so well. Laura explained: "I have an accountability partner and we meet weekly, so we'll go over our annual goals, then we'll break 'em down to what we wanna focus on that month. And then what we wanna focus on that week."
What struck me about Laura's approach is that it's not about policing each other. As she put it, "it's just more saying them out loud to someone else, that helps us hold ourselves accountable." The simple act of verbalizing your commitments to another person creates accountability that's hard to replicate on your own. Laura writes out her weekly goals and keeps them visible on her desk throughout the week, turning that external accountability into daily internal motivation.
Ready Founders™ understand that accountability isn't about being perfect. It's about being consistent and taking responsibility for outcomes. They know that the culture they create through their own behavior directly impacts their team's performance, client satisfaction, and business results.
Most importantly, they recognize that sustainable success requires building systems and cultures that work even when they're not in the room. And that starts with modeling the accountability they want to see.
Jeff was right to keep asking me that question. He could see what I couldn't: that accountability flows downward from leadership. You can't give what you don't have, and you can't expect from others what you don't expect from yourself.
The question isn't whether your team needs more accountability. The question is whether you're ready to model it first.
Take our 5-minute monthly Ready Founder™ check-in and get a focused snapshot of your financial readiness. 5 minutes to discover what's holding you back from your next level.
About the Author: Rod Loges is CEO of One Degree Financial and host of the MILCOM Founders podcast, where he helps veteran entrepreneurs build businesses with strong financial foundations.
The Ready Founder™ is part of One Degree Financial's commitment to helping founders gain the financial clarity and confidence they need to scale successfully. Learn more at onedegreefinancial.com.
Want more insights like this? Subscribe to The Ready Founder™ newsletter for practical strategies on building a business that works for you, not against you. Subscribe here.