160 Accountability Quotes To Keep You In Check

By Norbert Juma

Master quote curator and editor on a mission to inspire

Published August 26, 2023

If you feel like you need a little push to keep you focused, allow these accountability quotes to be your trusted guide.

Accountability is one of the most important elements for achieving success and living a meaningful life.

Whether in the workplace, leadership, relationships, or personal life, accountability is one of your most valuable assets.

When you follow through with your commitments and responsibilities, your self-esteem will grow, your relationships will thrive, and you’ll be able to progress personally and professionally.

If you’re in leadership, people will respect you more, and you will be a great example for others to follow.

You must hold yourself accountable for your actions, responsibilities, and goals to achieve a notable amount of success at anything.

Although other people will help you improve, it’s up to you to hold yourself to a high standard.

Holding yourself accountable is nothing more than doing what you know you should do.

It means solving your own problems, fixing your mistakes, and fully owning the things that happen in your life.

It is your life, so you must take control and be responsible for it.

To motivate you on your quest to live a fulfilled life, below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and helpful accountability quotes, accountability sayings, and accountability proverbs, collected from various sources over the years.

If you like this article, we suggest you explore our most popular quotes article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily encouragement.

Read more related content on our inspirational quotes category page.

Accountability Quotes To Keep You In Check

1. “You are accountable for your actions, your decisions, your life; no one else is, but you.” – Catherine Pulsifer

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2. “Accountability breeds response-ability.” – Stephen R. Covey

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3. “In reality, we all have our lives, and the accountability for the achievement of our dreams and goals falls strictly on our own shoulders.” – Thomas Matt

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4. “Each day you are leading by example. Whether you realize it or not or whether it’s positive or negative, you are influencing those around you.” ― Rob Liano

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5. “I believe that accountability is the basis of all meaningful human achievement.” – Sam Silverstein

Accountability Quotes To Keep You In Check

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6. “In life we can have results or reasons. If you are not getting the results you want, your reasons are the lies that you keep telling yourself.” – Harald Anderson

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7. “My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” – Oprah Winfrey

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8. “Creating a culture of integrity and accountability not only improves effectiveness, it also generates a respectful, enjoyable and life-giving setting in which to work.” – Tom Hanson
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9. “We are all responsible and accountable for what we do or say even if those behaviors occur in stressful times.” – Byron Pulsifer

10. “Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

Accountability quotes to help you reach your goals and dreams

11. “My experience is that accountability is an extremely powerful tool to align an organization toward its objectives.” – Susan Gomez

12. “Be accountable for doing the right things. This means ethical execution of the activities that will actually support the goals you have chosen for yourself.” – Sam Silverstein

13. “A duty dodged is like a debt unpaid; it is only deferred, and we must come back and settle the account at last.” – Joseph Fort Newton

14. “If I could give one tip for people – it’s not an exercise or nutrition regimen. It’s to walk your talk and believe in yourself, because at the end of the day, the dumbbell and diet don’t get you in shape. It’s your accountability to your word.” – Brett Hoebel

15. “The benefits and possibilities that are created by being personally accountable are countless.” – Jay Fiset

Accountability quotes to help you reach your goals and dreams

16. “Accountability is a key concept in moving an organization forward, especially in a challenging business climate.” – Cindy Tucker

17. “Individuals and teams have a sense of ownership, and are focused, disciplined and collaborative, while holding each other accountable for outcomes.” – Di Worrall
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18. “When it comes to privacy and accountability, people always demand the former for themselves and the latter for everyone else.” ― David Brin

19. “People are more inclined to pass the buck than they are to take responsibility. The fact is, though, passing the buck doesn’t build your character or give you the opportunity to learn from your mistakes.” – Marshall Goldsmith

20. “It is in your best interest to recognize that there is a difference between being responsible and taking responsibility. You Have the Freedom and Power to Choose.” – Christopher Avery

Accountability quotes on following through with your commitments and responsibilities

21. “If we want unity, we must all be unifiers. If we want accountability, each of us must be accountable for all we do.” – Christine Gregoire

22. “When accountability is present, people keep their eyes on a very clear prize. They know what they are working toward and how they are going to get there.” – Henry J. Evans

23. “The first step to creating a wealthy life is starting from wherever you are today. That self-honesty takes the highest level of personal accountability.” – Loral Langemeier

24. “You will not experience dramatic change in your struggle as long as you use accountability to describe your sins instead of declaring your need for help in the midst of temptation.” ― Heath Lambert

25. “Accountability is the glue that bonds commitment to results.” ― Will Craig

Accountability quotes on following through with your commitments and responsibilities

26. “It’s just that we’re all accountable for our own happiness. And being happy does matter. It’s up to each of us to find out what shape or form that takes.” – Peter Jennings

27. “When we are really honest with ourselves we must admit our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we use our lives that determines the kind of men we are.” – Ceasar Chavez

28. “Big pay and little responsibility are circumstances seldom found together.” – Napoleon Hill

29. “Talent is part of the equation, but when you combine talent with accountability and authenticity, it is tough to beat.” ― David Ross

30. ”To function effectively, a business requires leaders who are accountable for driving success.” – Barry Linetsky

Accountability quotes to help you take control of your life

31. “No one is perfect, and we all understand that, but when we decide to make that lifelong commitment, we need to weigh the cost and know God is holding us accountable for the commitments we make.” – Dr. Kenton D. Wiley

32. “To be accountable or to be a victim is one of those elemental decisions that everyone needs to make. Simply, the former leads you to a happier and more rewarding life.” – Rob Pitfield

33. “The notion of accountability has emerged as a human tool to motivate people – do what you’re supposed to do or you’ll be held to account.” – Art Horn

34. “To take responsibility for yourself as a leader and person; you need to learn to unlearn bad habits, and learn from your mistakes.” – Andrea Reibmayr

35. “Accountability means to say what you do, do what you say.” ― Pearl Zhu

Accountability quotes to help you take control of your life

36. “With a company full of accountable people, extraordinary things, even the entirely unexpected, tend to happen.” – Roger Connors

37. “Blame is the coward’s solution to his fear of accountability.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough

38. “The time has come to carry accountability forward, to take it offline and into the real world. To share our lives with just a few people we really, truly, honestly trust.” – Craig Gross

39. “It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.” – Moliere

40. “Accountability is – first and foremost – about being reliable. To get a good picture of your personal accountability, you may want to periodically ask yourself, “Can people count on me to do what I say I’ll do, as I said I would do it?” – Henry J. Evans

Accountability quotes to inspire and teach

41.) “Accountability crumbles silos, boosts teamwork and collaboration, strengthens camaraderie, creativity, resiliency, agility, trust, and communication.” – Mike Evans

42. “At the end of the day we are accountable to ourselves – our success is a result of what we do.” – Catherine Pulsifer

43. “Building a culture in which people take accountability to deliver on its promises is hard work and can be difficult to accomplish. Only when every person is held accountable to themselves, their peers, and their shared possibility can the impossible become possible.” – Ginger Graham

44. “Blaming, whining, deflecting accountability, risk aversion, and resistance to change are but a handful of symptoms of the adversity-beaten individual and organization.” – Paul G. Stoltz

45. “To achieve life mastery and be worthy of a life well lived, we must take action, ownership, and responsibility for our choices. Our date with destiny is not about reaching a final destination. It is about how fully we live the journey.” – Will Craig

46. “Don’t get up from the feast of life without paying for your share of it.” – W. R. Inge

accountability quotes to inspire and teach

47. “The benefit of truly accountable leaders is that they are able to create effective structures where their staff know what is expected of them, and can improve the business for customers.” – Jane Storm

48. “Neither age nor experience matters when it comes to being personally accountable for any and all outcomes- no excuses whatsoever- be they positive or negative, nor shifting blame to other people or to external factors.” – Kory Livingstone

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49. “One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about habit development is that you need accountability to stick to a major goal. It’s not enough to make a personal commitment.” – S. J. Scott

50. “Truly accountable leadership is the only way to build an organization that can not only survive in our increasingly complicated world but also grow and thrive.” ― Vince Molinaro

Accountability quotes for a well-lived life

51. “The right thing to do and the hard thing to do are usually the same.” – Steve Maraboli

52. A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody.” – Thomas Paine

53. “The only people that can ruin a relationship or make that relationship work are the two people in it.” – Rob Liano

54. “Accountability is where the cowardice of my teetering self-image is wrangled into submission by the force of my ethics.” – Craig D. Lounsbrough

55. “Without accountability there’s no civilization.” – Abhijit Naskar

56. “Accountability is the only real beginning to change.” – Daniel Abbott

57. “Accountability is the line of control between human and animal behavior.” – Abhijit Naskar

58. “Forgiveness is telling ourselves that the ‘wrong’ that we did will not impede the ‘right’ that we can do.” – Craig D. Lounsbrough

59. “Real leadership involves clear communication, personal accountability, and a zest for bringing out the best in everyone!” – Farshad Asl

60. “I think sometimes making yourself vulnerable before you are ready is exactly what can hold you accountable. Do what you fear.” – Brittany Burgunder

More accountability quotes and sayings

61. “Accountability in friendship is the equivalent of love without strategy.” – Anita Brookner

62. “If you made the choice to get in there and fight, you have to accept accountability for whatever happens.” – Roy Nelson

63. “Men are more accountable for their motives than for anything else; and primarily, morality consists in the motives, that is in the affections.” – Archibald Alexander

64. “The time is always right to do what’s right.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

65. “It was accountability that Nixon feared.” – Bob Woodward

66. “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

67. “Restoring responsibility and accountability is essential to the economic and fiscal health of our nation.” – Carl Levin

68. “A friend can inspire enthusiasm as well as accountability, and that serves to challenge you.” – Deanna Cosso

69. “It means a lot. It means I’m accountable.” – Champ Bailey

70. “What you do tells me everything about you.” – Jerry Fernandez

Accountability quotes to help you take responsibility for your life

71. “Transparency increases credibility and accountability.” — Park Won-soon

72. “Consumer accountability drives quality and efficiency.” — Pete Hoekstra

73. “Be brave and take accountability for your thoughts and beliefs.” — Jennifer Hyman

74. “The keys to brand success are self-definition, transparency, authenticity and accountability.” — Simon Mainwaring

75. “It amazes me that parents are allowed to raise kids. There’s so much power and often very little accountability.” — Ben Marcus

76. “True love does not only encompass the things that make you feel good, it also holds you to a standard of accountability.” — Monica Johnson

77. “If any of us were faced with a huge bag of free money and very little accountability, it would be human nature that you would make the most of it.” — Heather Brooke

78. “Camaraderie doesn’t happen by accident; developing a strong sense of trust, accountability, and togetherness around team goals requires intentional effort.” — Don Yaeger

79. “If men can learn to be less defensive, more open to others, and more accepting of accountability, they will adapt well to the new global economy.” — John Gerzema

80. “Maybe you’re not perfect, but you’re willing to actually look at yourself and take some kind of accountability. That’s a change. It might not mean that you can turn everything around, but I think there’s something incredibly hopeful about that.” — Brie Larson

Insightful Accountability Quotes

81. “It is wrong and immoral to seek to escape the consequences of one’s acts.” — Mahatma Gandhi

82.”Leaders inspire accountability through their ability to accept responsibility before they place blame.” — Courtney Lynch

83. “Take accountability… Blame is the water in which many dreams and relationships drown.” — Steve Maraboli

84. Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.” — George Washington Carver

85. Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.” — General Colin Powell

86. “Responsibility equals accountability equals ownership. And a sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon a team or organization can have.” — Pat Summitt

87. “I’ve come to realize that the desperate need for accountable leaders is the fundamental challenge organizations are facing today.” — Vince Molinaro

88. “Teams keep leaders accountable for the goal. Individuals connected to no one can change the goal without accountability.” — John C. Maxwell

89. “Accountability, is the state or condition of being accountable or responsible. That is right. We are responsible for what goes on in our heads.” — John Faulkner

90. “On good teams coaches hold players accountable, on great teams’ players hold players accountable.” — Joe Dumars

Accountability Quotes to Inspire Responsibility

91. “Accountability separates the wishers in life from the action-takers that care enough about their future to account for their daily actions.” — John Di Lemme

92. “Break the riddle of accountability, the thinking goes, and you will have solved one of the thorniest issues in modern business.” — Mihnea Moldoveanu

93. “Good men prefer to be accountable.” — Michael Edwardes

94. “Simple organizational structure and clear accountability are necessary conditions for the exercise of effective leadership.” — John Adair

95. “Success on any major scale requires you to accept responsibility . . . In the final analysis, the one quality that all successful people have is the ability to take on responsibility.” — Michael Korda

96. “We are all accountable for our actions; their affect and influence on our lives and the lives of others.” — Sameh Elsayed

97. “Understanding the true meaning of accountability makes us strong and enables us to learn.” — Sameh Elsayed

98. “If you are building a culture where honest expectations are communicated and peer accountability is the norm, then the group will address poor performance and attitudes.” — Henry Cloud

99. “You must be accountable constantly to those demands that are made on your time and it is only you that can allocate what time can be used for what purpose.” — Byron Pulsifer

100. “Good men are bound by conscience and liberated by accountability.” — Wes Fesler

Accountability Quotes That You Should Know

101. “Open collaboration encourages greater accountability, which in turn fosters trust.” — Ron Garan

102. “Dignity is the reward of holding oneself accountable to conscience.” — Wes Fesler

103. “Perhaps nothing in our society is more needed for those in positions of authority than accountability.” ― Larry Burkett

104. “There’s not a chance we’ll reach our full potential until we stop blaming each other and start practicing personal accountability.” — John Miller

105. “Having authority implies accountability. If you reject the blame for failures under your watch, people reject your leadership.” — Rick Warren

106. “When people feel accountable and included, it is more fun.” — Alan Mulally

107. “A president cannot defend a nation if he is not held accountable to its laws.” ― DaShanne Stokes

108. “Life is not accountable to us. We are accountable to life.” — Denis Waitley

109. “A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for injury.” — John Stuart Mill

110. “On one side of accountability is courage, on the other is freedom.” — Jean Hamilton

Accountability Quotes To Illustrate How It Impacts Results

111. “Exercise. It made me accountable to myself by teaching me how to feel strong. But I don’t mean just on the outside. It got to me in a deeper way by showing me how to have a healthy relationship with myself.” — Stacey Griffith

112. “Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to the result.” — Bob Proctor

113. “No individual can achieve worthy goals without accepting accountability for his or her own actions.” — Dan Miller

114. “Trust, honesty, humility, transparency and accountability are the building blocks of a positive reputation. Trust is the foundation of any relationship.” — Mike Paul

115. “Accountability only works if you want it to.” — Dillon Burroughs

116. “I made the decision. I’m accountable.” — Janet Reno

117. “There is no accountability in soft money. None.” — Zach Wamp

118. “In our recovery package we put new standards of accountability and transparency, which we hope will now apply.” — Nancy Pelosi

119. “There’s responsibility, but there’s also accountability. You have to be accountable for your actions. You have to stand at your locker when things are going bad.” — Derek Jeter

120. “Forgiving yourself, not guilt, increases personal accountability.” — David D. Burns

Accountability Quotes To Promote Growth

121. “The word accounting comes from the word accountability. If you are going to be rich, you need to be accountable for your money.” — Robert Kiyosaki

122. “Being accountable is somewhat ingrained into the life of a first responder.” ― Asa Don Brown

123. “Without accountability there will be no growth.” ― Manuel Corazzari

124. “Today’s seed is tomorrow’s shade, but you must sow it first and nourish it with an uncorrupted accountability.” ― Abhijit Naskar

125. “Goodness makes you accountable, accountability strengthens your goodness.” ― Abhijit Naskar

126. “Great leaders do not fear accountability because it is part of their responsibility.” ― Gift Gugu Mona

127. “The greatest gift we can give our children is teaching them accountability.” ― Ron Baratono

128. “Take accountability before an excuse snatches you.” ― Tyconis D. Allison Ty

129. “An accountable mind has learned to be agile, wise, courageous, resilient, and high-mature.” ― Pearl Zhu

130. “There is a fine line between overbearing accountability and an allowance for mistakes.” ― Miles Anthony Smith

Accountability Quotes For Being Transparent and Responsible

131. “One thing I detest most about the financial press is the lack of accountability. All sorts of nonsense is said without penalty.” — Barry Ritholtz

132. “An authentic spirituality does not cater to culture; it calls culture to accountability.” — Joan D. Chittister

133. “Professional accountability is a good thing. Without it, excellence is merely a pipe dream and even average performance isn’t a realistic expectation.” — Leon F.

134. “It’s not an insult to have a past and to have some accountability to it.” — Grant-Lee Phillips

135. “Execution is a systematic process of rigorously discussing hows and whats, tenaciously following through, and ensuring accountability.” — Lawrence Bossidy

136. “I’m pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do.” — John Mayer

137. “There is no accountability today… no willingness to focus on big ideas.” — Michael Bloomberg

138. “We’re building a culture of accountability, trust, and togetherness. Entitlement will not be tolerated.” — Brad Stevens

139. “When they say accountability, they mean surveillance and standardization.” — Marc Lamont Hill

140. “I just think we need more accountability and more transparency.” — John Thune

Accountability Quotes To Guide You in Leadership

141. “Leadership cannot be entrusted to those who fear accountability. It requires a lot of responsibility.” ― Gift Gugu Mona

142. “My soldiers don’t act on hope, they act on accountability.” ― Abhijit Naskar

143. “We must learn to choose between lining our bank accounts and being accountable for our future.” ― Carlos Wallace

144. “Anytime that cannot be accounted for is a wasted time.” ― Sunday Adelaja

145. “Requiring accountability while also extending your compassion is not the easiest course of action, but it is the most humane, and, ultimately, the safest for the community.” ― Brené Brown

146. “Wisdom stems from personal accountability. We all make mistakes; own them… learn from them. Don’t throw away the lesson by blaming others.” ― Steve Maraboli

147. “Without accountability time would pass our intentions uncontested, then one day we awaken finding our objective lost to the penalty of neglect.” ― W Larsen Hughes

148. “An accountability mind has learned to be agile, wise, courageous, resilient, and high-mature.” ― Pearl Zhu

149. “Each one of us will give an account before God.” ― Sunday Adelaja

150. “Apart from demanding accountability, never forget to encourage your people.” ― Sunday Adelaja

Accountability Quotes To Keep You in Good Order

151. “You steadily grow into becoming your best as you choose to be accountable and accept responsibility for improvement.” ― Steve Shallenberger

152. “For most people, blaming others is a subconscious mechanism for avoiding accountability. In reality, the only thing in your way is YOU.” ― Steve Maraboli

153. “Good relentlessly calls us to accountability, abjectly refusing to hand us free passes for poor choices and unethical decisions.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough

154. “When a bully is held accountable for his actions, his future actions will change. Bad behavior only continues for those who allow it.” ― Gary Hopkins

155. “Continuously lying to yourself is just as fatal as suicide; only slower. Take ownership of your life, be accountable to you.” ― Noel DeJesus

156. “Order is not a question of law, it is a question of accountability.” ― Abhijit Naskar

157. “Personal spiritual development generates the anointing, integrity contains it while accountability sustains it.” ― Dr. Lucas D. Shallua

158. “To attempt to separate power from accountability is to understand neither and be hurt by both.”― Craig D. Lounsbrough

159. “We are not only accountable to God but to the people that we serve and also to our own selves.” ― Dr. Lucas D. Shallua

160. “A person who lacks accountability will still deny the karma they’re receiving, even when everything around them is burning to the ground.” ― Robin S. Baker