An owner needs something definite to own
"Everyone is responsible for growth" describes shared influence but not an operating arrangement. Name the person accountable for the specific outcome and the people who provide inputs, decisions or delivery. Shared contribution should not mean an unowned handover.
Define what complete looks like. "Improve follow-up" is vague. "Every suitable proposal has a recorded next decision, owner and agreed or justified date" is observable. The standard should describe useful work rather than empty activity.
Give the authority that matches the responsibility
Ask what the owner can decide, what needs approval and where they escalate a blocked dependency. If they are accountable for a turnaround time but cannot obtain required inputs, the measure needs to reflect that shared control.
This does not excuse avoidable delay. It helps distinguish a missed action from a dependency the owner could not resolve alone. Make the escalation duty explicit so a blocked task does not disappear quietly.
Worked example (illustrative): a new partnership manager
A manager is told to grow an account but cannot confirm service availability, approve routine scope or access customer history. Weekly reviews focus only on bookings. The role has a target without an executable operating model.
The business defines the manager's decisions, the delivery team's availability commitment and an escalation path for exceptions. The manager owns the account plan and follow-through. Delivery owns capacity accuracy. Both review the customer outcome.
The improvement is not a more complicated responsibility chart. It is a clearer agreement about who does what when the next customer request arrives.
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Use a compact handover contract
For each important transition, record the required input, receiving owner, acceptance condition, due point and exception route. A handover is not complete merely because an email was sent. The receiving person needs enough information to act.
Test the agreement with a real or fictional case. Ask the receiver to explain the next action. If they must guess, the handover standard is not yet clear enough.
Review commitments, not personalities
At the review, ask what was agreed, what happened, what evidence exists and what blocked progress. Then decide whether the response is coaching, a process change, a resource decision or a clearer priority.
Avoid making the most conscientious person accountable for every gap because they usually rescue the work. That can hide the actual owner and create an unsustainable dependency.
Close the decision loop
Every review should end with an action, owner and date, or an explicit decision not to proceed. Record changes to scope and priorities. If leadership adds urgent work, state what will pause rather than leaving everyone accountable for incompatible commitments.
Accountability is strongest when people know the outcome, the boundaries and how to obtain help. It is weakest when the rules become clear only after something goes wrong.
Your next action
Choose one outcome that currently slips between teams. Name the accountable owner, supporting inputs and decision boundaries. Write a handover contract and test it with a case. Identify a fair outcome measure and an escalation duty for blocked work.
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Lesson: Accountability: give the work an owner and the authority to act. Please do not include confidential client, financial, health or staff information.
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