A new analysis from Gallup finds that fewer than half of leaders believe they are highly effective at creating accountability—widely defined as holding teams responsible for delivering strong performance.
The gap is even more pronounced from below. Managers consistently rate their leaders lower across key leadership skills, with accountability ranking last among seven core competencies measured.
Accountability Ranks Lowest Across Leadership Skills
The survey asked leaders to assess themselves across seven competencies tied to performance, including communication, decision-making, and developing people. Managers were separately asked to evaluate their leaders using the same criteria.
Both groups identified accountability as the weakest area. It was also the only category where leaders and managers showed relatively close alignment, suggesting broader recognition of the issue.
Leaders rated themselves at least 20 percentage points higher than managers did, pointing to a persistent perception gap inside organizations.
Engagement Tied Directly to Leadership Behavior
The findings come as employee engagement continues to decline in the U.S. and globally. Gallup’s data shows a strong link between accountability and engagement outcomes.
Managers who say their leaders are effective at holding teams accountable are significantly more likely to be engaged in their own work. Where accountability is weak, engagement drops sharply.
Clarity of expectations—closely tied to accountability—has also declined in recent years, reinforcing the connection between leadership behavior and workforce performance.
Implications for the Future of Work
The findings point to a growing disconnect between how leaders assess their effectiveness and how their teams experience it.
As work becomes more distributed and roles evolve more quickly, the ability to define expectations, maintain consistent standards, and link performance to outcomes is becoming more central to organizational effectiveness.
