“To be accountable means that we are willing to be responsible to another person for our behavior and it implies a level of submission to another’s opinions and viewpoints.”

Wayde Goodall

“Willing to be responsible to another person for OUR behavior.” I particularly like this portion of the quote; it means you must maintain a willingness to be accountable for your behaviors’ impact on others, whether intentional or not. 

The second portion of the quote, “implies a level of submission to another’s opinions and viewpoints,” conveys that one must actively seek an understanding of how your behaviors impact others. Since you are responsible, you are then accountable for that impact.

We don’t live in a vacuum, our behaviors have a profound impact on the lives of others, and we can’t blindly say, “that’s just the way that I am.” That isn’t accountability.