Thursday, September 17, 2009


"Accountability breeds response-ability."

~Stephen R. Covey


So, on a recent Sunday morning, I rolled out of bed, grabbed my coffee and planted my butt on my throne (the couch) and picked up my scepter (the remote) . In flipping through a lot of crappy programming, I hear the voice of a spiritual speaker that I’m not particularly a fan of say “think about what accountability means”. My channel changing finger became as stiff as his freshly hair-sprayed bouffant…I couldn’t help but listen.


Now, he was talking about being accountable to God, and if I’d been sitting in his Atlanta sanctuary, I might have raised my hands and shouted a hefty “Amen” as many southerners do on a Sunday afternoon. But instead, I hadn’t even brushed my teeth and was having one hell of an epiphany right there in my fave PJs. So, as I nursed my iced latte and watched them flash the preacher’s “giving hotline number” across the screen, I couldn’t help but think about how much better the world would actually be if we were all accountable.


Being accountable creates integrity. Think about it. Your other half calls and says they want to meet for dinner. You agree, but instead, you go out with your friends without a call, email, text, or any other impersonal way we have to communicate these days. You weren’t accountable. And do you know the price you pay? You’re now responsible that your other half is justifiably hurt. Not just because of what you did, but the disappointment they are feeling. You see he/she trusted that you would be accountable. You let them down. Your integrity points are crashin’ and burnin’ at this point.


Think about the benefits of being accountable….Being accountable helps put you in the position for great things in your career. If you’re accountable to your clients you’ll retain the business or get repeat business. Being where you say you’ll be at the time you say you will is just an example. But when you do this you are showing your clients that they can depend on you. When you do these things--which is inadvertently being accountable to your company—you will be recognized for your efforts…and if you’re consistent in those efforts, the money-or however you measure success- will come.


And by all means be accountable to you. Many are in unfavorable financial situations right now because they lived beyond their means and are having to suffer those repercussions because they weren’t accountable to themselves. Some are in a relationship that is just nipping away at their self-esteem. If you wouldn’t want your best friend to stay in that unhealthy place…why are you? Others are battling within because they went against the grain of what they hold true to their heart, and now having to go through inner turmoil that could have been avoided.
It may be the easy way out to try to avoid accountability on any level, but in the end the consequences that come from doing that…well that’s not so easy.


Here’s wishing you an accountable life :-) XOXO Kris

2 comments:

  1. Thank goodness you're back!!
    Tweeting the link to this one...so true.
    Lack of accountability is part of our downfall!

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  2. I love it girl! That's my girl...and as your BFF, no you wouldn't want me to be with someone who wasn't accountable to my feelings and I don't want that for you either! Accountability breeds responsibility resulting in integrity and isn't that we are all trying to be and trying to find?
    Love you and glad your creative juices are flowing again!
    Em

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