In fact, he suggested in his testimony that some of his officers had let him down by failing at their own duties. He also offered a quote from Teddy Roosevelt about how a good officer needs to delegate responsibilities to his officers. Real Responsibility is the result of Accountability. Accountability A leader is accountable for the responsibility of those in his or her charge. Accountability is the standard against which responsibility is measured.
Accountability is the quantitative equivalent of an individual s willingness to be at risk.
It is therefore the equivalent of an individual s right to fail. A submarine is an inherently dangerous place. The real enemy, the sea, is an unforgiving adversary. You fail only once. In a recent article entitled, Feckless , I wrote that heroism is the cousin of altruism.