Accountability - Can It Be Taught? Or Should You Just Hire for It?

Why Accountability Matters More in Tech SMEs

In large enterprises, a lack of accountability might be absorbed by layers of process and hierarchy. In a tech SME? It’s exposed - fast. With lean (busy!!) teams, tight deadlines, high client expectations, and huge personal levels of entrepreneurial commitment there’s little room for hand-holding. Blaming somebody might offer a momentary vent, but it won’t fix broken workflows or rebuild trust.. You need people who instinctively take ownership, not just of their tasks, but of outcomes.

According to SME Today, accountability drives trust, productivity, and morale. But in smaller businesses, it also fuels agility. When individuals own their work, decisions get made faster, problems are surfaced earlier, and pivots happen with purpose—not panic.

The Cost of Getting It Wrong

Hiring someone who lacks personal accountability can be disproportionately damaging in a small team. It creates drag: missed deadlines, finger-pointing, and a culture of avoidance. Worse, it can demoralise your high performers—the ones quietly carrying the weight.

As Triple Crown puts it, “Accountability begins where the blame game ends.” In tech hiring, especially for senior or client-facing roles, you’re not just looking for skills—you’re looking for character. Someone who’ll say, “I’ve got this,” and mean it. Making the wrong hire can be a painful and costly reset.

Can Accountability Be Taught? Yes—but It’s a Long Game

The good news: accountability can be nurtured. Through clear expectations, feedback loops, and a culture that rewards ownership over excuses, you can help people grow into it. But that takes time—and in a scaling SME, time is your most precious currency. Credit to CCL for the above graphic, which shows steps to develop accountability. As a Chair of Governors at a Training Provider, accountability is fundamental. My role is to support and challenge the business - usually via the leadership team - so that they can deliver great quality teaching and learning. Which they do with huge levels of commitment and passion. They are expert at recruiting into their industry and developing talent and providing individuals with long-lasting careers. In vocational training, there’s often the time and structure to shape behaviour over years. But in the commercial trenches of a tech SME, those cycles are tighter, and the stakes more immediate.

That’s why hiring for accountability from the outset is a strategic advantage. It’s not about perfection, it’s about mindset. Look for candidates who:

• Reflect on past failures with honesty
• Speak in terms of outcomes, not just tasks
• Ask questions that show ownership thinking
• Demonstrate follow-through in their career stories (“How did you measure success?”)

How to Spot It in Interviews

Accountability doesn’t always show up on a CV. In fact, it's really hard to ascertain, even when a CV mentions it regularly. But, it leaves clues. Try asking:

• “Tell me about a project that didn't go to plan? What was your role and what did you learn from the experience”?
• “Citing a task or project you've been involved with recently, what impact did that have on the customer/ organisation?”
• “Have you ever disagreed with a decision but had to deliver it anyway?”
• “What’s a project you’re proud of—and what would you do differently next time?”
• “How do you measure success in your day-to-day activities?”

You’re listening for:

• Self-awareness, not spin
• Ownership of outcomes, not just their actions
• Curiosity about impact, not just process.

Final Thoughts

In my world of Technology delivery, Microsoft Dynamics, digital transformation, and fractional leadership, accountability isn’t just a cultural value, it’s a growth enabler. It’s what allows you to delegate with confidence, scale without chaos, and build a business where people don’t just show up—they step up. You're building future leaders who are committed to the cause.

So yes, accountability can be taught. But if you’re a tech SME with big ambitions and limited bandwidth, it may be smarter to hire people who already carry it in their DNA.