---
title: "What Is Accountability? Dental Practice Glossary"
description: "Taking responsibility for agreed actions and results, accepting that decisions will be reviewed and that consequences may follow from that review, as defined in..."
url: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/accountability
publisher: Copeland Consulting Services
email: drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com
contact: https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact
---

Leadership and communication

# Accountability

Taking responsibility for agreed actions and results, accepting that decisions will be reviewed and that consequences may follow from that review, as defined in research on the idea.

Accountability means owning your actions and results. A meta-analysis in the research literature defines it as a three-part idea: the individual takes responsibility for their actions, agrees that their decisions or actions will be assessed by a meaningful audience, and accepts that rewards or sanctions will follow from that assessment.

In a dental team it can mean clear roles, agreed goals and open review of results. It works well with clear [job descriptions](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/job-description), regular [feedback](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/feedback) and a fair [performance review](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/performance-review).

One person cannot make a team accountable alone. Both leaders and team members have parts to play. This entry gives a general definition and no method.

[Next stepPractice consulting with Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact?topic=consulting)

## Related terms

-   [Feedback](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/feedback)
-   [Performance review](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/performance-review)
-   [Job description](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/job-description)
-   [Leadership](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/glossary/leadership)

## Sources

1.  [PMC, The Effect of Outcome vs. Process Accountability-Focus on Performance: A Meta-Analysis](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9094407/)

## Talk with Dr. Copeland

[Contact Dr. Copeland](https://joncopeland.multisites.ai/contact)[Email](mailto:drcopeland@joncopelanddds.com)