• Lack of knowledge makes accountability difficult—since God is all knowing, He is perfectly able to judge man’s choices. We cannot see the heart, but God can. Bottom line: we are imperfect at this job of accountability.
• Anonymity/privacy—accountability is thwarted by inability to hold an individual responsible for their actions by the anonymity of the group or the lack of knowledge provided by privacy.
• Communication and expectation—the burden of communication should be on the “accountee” and the burden of expectation is on the “accountor”; set expectations then require communication.
• Consequences are necessary for accountability—if there is no bite to your bark, you might as well quit barking. Keep consequences as objective and individualized as possible.
• Consistency and inspection are accountability’s best friends—few things will anger a person faster than inconsistent accountability; neither are easy and both take time.

Opening Questions

1. What makes accountability hard?
2. On one hand, I don’t want to be the bad guy, and I don’t want to take time to do it. On the other hand, I don’t want someone telling me what to do and how to do it.
3. What is frustrating about accountability?
4. Answers to this question could range all over the place, depending on people’s success and failure with the topic.

Closing Thoughts

• Write it down—expectations seem to be lost in verbal interaction
• Mark it off—easiest form of communication
• Accountability is work, but done properly it should take much less time than the work you are holding accountable.