Accountability in ethical leadership serves, then, to guide us back to the higher road. Ethical leadership promotes and demands accountability. As members of American society, we are bound by our covenant as citizens to agitate for the good of all. Without clamor for actors of conscience, however, we collectively suffer. Accountability is not merely the province of a minority, nor is it focused solely on leaders, but rather it trains its eye on each of us.
Accountability is about voting and attending and serving and asking questions.
Indeed, it should be the standard for both private and public character. It should be political suicide not to exhibit principled leadership in personal and professional settings. However, for values and principles to guide the priorities of political leaders, both the electors and the elected must hold each other accountable. Jim Barksdale is a living legend. Barksdale first made his mark at FedEx where he built its famous IT system capable of tracking millions of packages.