Beyond Carrots and Sticks - The Power of Chosen Accountability

Since my younger years, I have felt a deep discomfort with control and dictation. It was only when I moved into the world of leadership and organisational transformation that I understood why.

Imposed accountability - mandated, enforced, and rigid - does not create the best outcomes in a highly complex and volatile world.

What I have come to observe is this: when accountability is chosen, it creates adaptability and impact. It enables systems and organisations to thrive in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) world. To achieve this, we must develop a new relationship with accountability - and with freedom.

The Extremes of Accountability and Freedom

In today's world, we see a growing polarisation:

• Accountability, in its rigid form, is often wielded as power over - used to mandate, coerce, and manipulate.

• Freedom, at its extreme, is individualistic - focused solely on personal desires and expression and often disregarding the collective good.

Wherever we might sit on this continuum between extremes, our values and worldview shape how we relate to power structures and choice, both for ourselves and those around us. And our conditioning can make it a real struggle to carve our own path, aligned with what matters most.

In my personal life, I am a mother to three daughters, and I have never had the ‘gender inequality’ conversation with them.

We talk about power structures, boundaries of responsibility, and how systems shape our lives - but I have never told them that being female might be a disadvantage.

You may call me ignorant. But I ask you - call me responsible instead.

Because the moment we become aware of something, we notice it everywhere. And what we notice shapes how we show up in the world.

I don’t want my daughters walking into the world anticipating disadvantage. Why? Because the risk is disempowerment. Because if we constantly prepare for a fight, we might start battling shadows. And worse, we might give up before we even begin.

Yes, the world is still riddled with inequality. But what if the most radical act is to show up as if it didn’t exist?

Not out of naivety - but out of power. Not by ignoring reality, but by choosing our response to it. Because while the system may try to shape us, how we relate to it, how we claim our space, and how we hold our power - that is always ours. And that is our responsibility.

In many workplaces today, accountability means holding someone or something to account - controlling, coercing, and manipulating for a predetermined outcome. It creates the illusion of certainty:

• “If I impose enough control, I will guarantee the result.”

• “If I mandate enough accountability, success will be ensured.”

Take reward and recognition schemes: organisations set rigid KPIs and OKRs at the beginning of the year and measure success against them 12 months later.

Yet, in a VUCA world, many of these goals become irrelevant or certainly change, long before the year ends. Still, individuals and organisations persist in chasing outdated targets because their bonuses, rewards and recognition within the system depend on them. It’s a system designed for compliance, not impact. This approach is from the industrial revolution - outdated and not relevant for today's work in a complex world.

So what if accountability were only possible through choice - rooted in agency, purpose, and meaning? What if it were fluid, requiring us to choose again and again?

In this model, accountability cannot exist without its counterpart - autonomy or freedom as you may want to call it.

And with that, what if freedom isn’t just a privilege we have or don’t have? What if freedom is an action we take - through our choices, the stands we take, and the accountability we claim for both ourselves and the wellbeing of the whole?

This is where the freedom to choose creates true commitment and chosen accountability.

"Accountability is the willingness to care for the whole..." - Peter Block

To access this freedom to choose, we must confront our values and beliefs, and to act in alignment with what matters most requires courage. Because the price our freedom to choose demands is the weight of responsibility - often experienced through discomfort or anxiety.

We see the real consequences of our decisions and, at times, when our choices are limited or undesirable, we avoid responsibility - seeking comfort in the belief that someone else, a heroic leader, will fix things for us.

So why choose discomfort over comfort? We can either live as victims of the world around us or we can take an active role in playing the game to shape the world we want to live in. When doing so, we contribute our strengths and gifts, create connection and belonging to something greater than ourselves.

This is the intersection of freedom/ autonomy and accountability that enables people and whole systems to thrive.

What would this shift look like in an organisational context? Let’s return to the example of a rewards-driven system.

Instead of rigid annual targets:

• Teams work in short sprints, defining their evolving priorities and tracking their impact in real time.

• Strategic objectives are approached iteratively - co-defined with all stakeholders, including future generations and our ecology.

• People take ownership based on alignment with their energy, strengths, and purpose.

• Recognition is not imposed but self-tracked and collectively celebrated throughout the year.

• At year-end, rewards are based on the overall impact and success of the whole.

The result? An adaptive, purpose-led, and impactful system - one that thrives in a VUCA world.

This shift is entirely possible. It requires structural and process changes, but more importantly, it requires a mindset of trust and partnership across hierarchies. It calls for a worldview that values the wellbeing of the whole.

To begin, we must challenge our worldview and our relationship with power - shifting from power over to power with. And we must navigate the delicate dance between compassion for the anxiety that the freedom to choose triggers and the deep sense of responsibility that arises when we take a stand for something greater than ourselves.

Here are some reflection prompts to help you and your organisation in beginning teh shift:

At an individual level:

• Where are you stuck with responsibilities that no longer serve a purpose?

• What is the ‘no’ you keep putting off? What is the ‘yes’ you no longer mean?

• How can you create space for iteration and choice; to renew your choice and commitment again and again?

In relationships:

• What expectations are you fulfilling that you have not deliberately chosen?

• How can you transform them into an agreement?

• When you must do things that you don’t want to do, how can you find meaning in its greater purpose?

In organisational systems:

• Do our structures and processes support or hinder chosen accountability?

• What is the current a balance between autonomy and responsibility for the collective good in your organisation

• Where can you create more meaningful ways for people to co-create with purpose and contribution?

The Work We Do at TAO Consulting

At TAO Consulting, we help individuals, teams, leaders, and organisations operate at the intersection of accountability and autonomy - empowering people and organisations to make a meaningful, positive impact in the world.

To extend our reach, and support the common good, we also offer pro-bono and reduced-fee services for charities and NGOs within this field.

If you are ready to shift towards chosen accountability in your organisation, let’s have a conversation.

How will you create space for chosen accountability today?

Gift of Coaching

If you are navigating a system of imposed accountability - or want to explore how to cultivate chosen accountability in your work and leadership - we are offering a free, no-strings attached coaching session.

You can gift this to someone that you think could benefit or gift it to yourself. We value the ability to make a contribution with no expectations in return. To arrange email Kerstin with 'Gift of Coaching' kerstin@thriveasoneconsulting.com