A Key Insight: Only One Person Should Lose Sleep Over a Problem
We all know that if everyone is accountable, no one is accountable. Similarly, if more than one person on your team loses sleep over the same problem, you’ve got an accountability problem.
I keep returning to that insight when I talk to clients about the Accountability Chart. It sounds counterintuitive at first. Shouldn’t we all care about big problems? Shouldn’t everyone take ownership?
Yes, we should care, but no, we should not all take ownership.
In a healthy organization running on EOS, caring is shared, but accountability is singular. That’s what creates freedom.
A few years ago, I was conducting a Quarterly EOS Session with a client who owned and operated hotels in various parts of the country. One of their hotels was located right on the coast in Florida, and, as it happened, a hurricane was forecast to hit land less than ten miles from that hotel.
Let me explain.
The Accountability Chart Is Not a Chain of Command
At first glance, the Accountability Chart looks like a typical org chart: boxes, lines, titles. Pro tip: don’t call it an org chart, the puritans will get bent out of shape. It might even remind you of military command structures or corporate silos. That, however, would be a significant misunderstanding.
In EOS, the Accountability Chart is a clarity tool. It defines:
- The right structure for your organization
- The seats (or roles) that must be filled
- And most importantly: who is accountable for what
Notice I said accountable. Not responsible. Not consulted. Not informed. Accountable.
Accountable means one thing: the buck stops with ME.
Accountability ≠ Isolation
Let’s clear up a common misconception. Defining a single accountable person for each major function doesn’t mean:
- No one else can care
- No one else can help
- No one else can speak up
Quite the opposite! Healthy teams collaborate and care beyond the confines of their own lane. But, they also know whose lane is whose.
If there’s a problem with collecting payment for invoices, everyone on the team needs to care, and everyone should be willing to help if needed. The Sales leader shouldn’t think, “Ha – sucks to be the Finance leader right now.”
But, at the same time, the Sales leader shouldn’t lose a wink of sleep over this issue, because she knows that the Finance leader will if needed.
Similarly, if one of your best customers is upset and threatening to take their next project elsewhere, everyone on the team should care and be willing to pitch in and help if needed. But, in pitching in, they shouldn’t own the problem. The Finance leader shouldn’t carry the emotional weight of it, because that burden belongs to the Sales leader, who is accountable for customer satisfaction. If someone is going to lose sleep, it’s her.
So yes: caring is shared. Accountability is not.
What Accountability Actually Feels Like
Back to Florida.
We kicked off a session one day, and during our opening check-in, one of the leaders shared his “good news”: a hurricane was heading straight for that Florida hotel.
Not the kind of good news you’d expect.
But he smiled and said, “In the past, I’d be worried. But I’m not worried at all. I don’t know what the plan is, but I know we have the right person in the right seat. Our general manager knows what he’s doing. I’m confident he has a plan and has it under control. So, I’m not worrying about it.”
That’s the kind of freedom we’re talking about. That’s what the Accountability Chart is for.
The Hidden Freedom in Narrowing Focus
Here’s the beauty of this system: once it’s clear who owns what, everyone else can stop worrying about it.
You don’t have to:
- Micromanage things you’re not responsible for
- Second-guess whether someone else will handle it
- Lose sleep over problems outside your seat
Why? Because someone has it. Someone owns it. And if the right person is in the right seat, they’re going to make sure it’s handled, even if you don’t know all the details of how, why, what, or where. You may lose visibility into all the nooks and crannies of the business, but you gain freedom (and sleep!)
This creates a kind of organizational peace. You know what’s yours, and you can focus your limited time, energy, and emotional bandwidth there. That’s freedom, and that’s a big deal.
A Quick Litmus Test: Who’s Losing Sleep?
If your team is struggling with blurry roles or cross-functional stress, try this. First, pull out your Accountability Chart and grab a fresh cup of coffee. Then, ask yourself:
For any given issue, who’s losing sleep?
- If no one is losing sleep, that’s a red flag. You probably haven’t clarified ownership, or you might have a Right Person Right Seat issue.
- If multiple people are losing sleep, that’s also a red flag. You might have several very well-intentioned people trying to share accountability (which, as we say in EOS, usually means no one is truly accountable).
- If one person is losing sleep – and that person is the right person in the right seat – then you have healthy accountability.
And no, I’m not actually recommending chronic insomnia as a performance metric, but you get the point.
What About Team Players?
This is often the next question: “But shouldn’t we all be team players?”
Yes! EOS doesn’t teach that you stay in your lane no matter what and fight to keep others out. I once heard one leader tell another, “With all due respect, stay the [bleep] out of my area.” Yes, he got fired.
Good leaders care, help, and speak up. But knowing and accepting where final accountability lies ensures that action actually happens when needed, and things don’t fall through the cracks (and nobody gets fired).
Accountability also prevents burnout. If you feel like you’re in charge of everything, not only are you truly in charge of nothing, but what you’re doing is unsustainable, and you’re on a path headed for destruction. A clear Accountability Chart protects your team from carrying weight they were never intended to carry.
How the Accountability Chart Helps Break Silos
Here’s the twist: defining clear accountability is what actually breaks down silos.
When people don’t know who owns what, they either:
- Step on each other’s toes trying to help, or
- Back away from helping at all, fearing they’ll cross a line
Clarity builds trust. When I know you’ve got it, I’m free to contribute without taking over, or feel safe staying out of it when appropriate.
Clarity Is a Gift
The Accountability Chart is not just about structure or checking a box to make your EOS Implementer happy. More than that, it’s a gift you give your team:
- The gift of knowing what’s expected
- The gift of not being stretched too thin
- The gift of knowing what to own, and what to release
And for leaders, it’s the gift of sleeping better at night, because someone owns each key piece of the business. When the hurricane was coming, I’m pretty sure that GM lost some sleep. But – and here’s the key point – while HE was losing sleep, nobody else had to!
Want to Go Deeper?
If this resonated, take a moment to reflect:
- Are your people clear on what they’re truly accountable for?
- Does your company have issues where more than one person is losing sleep?
- Is your Accountability Chart creating more freedom than silos?
If not, it might be time for a tune-up.
You can explore more about the Accountability Chart and other tools in the Six Key Components of EOS by visiting our blog or connecting with an Implementer near you.
You don’t need to do everything, but you do need to know what you’re accountable for. Now, go and get some sleep!
