As a manager, do you recognize the power and significance of accountability in the office, and want your teams to do the same?

Having employees who understand the knock-on effects of their actions helps them better understand their role, and builds a sense of responsibility.

We’ve got a collection of team-building activities laid out for you that improve workplace accountability in fun and unique ways.

So let’s lift the lid of accountability and learn how it works its magic on your teams!

What exactly is workplace accountability?

Outside of the workplace, accountability refers to the condition of being held responsible and accepting the outcomes of your actions.

When applied to the workplace, the principles still remain. If staff feel that their actions don’t have consequences, the organization is heading toward disaster.

Interestingly, the word accountability often only carries heavy or negative implications. For instance, a person should be held accountable if they say something hurtful to someone, and upset them.

However, if someone should be held responsible for the negative outcomes of their mistakes, shouldn’t the opposite also be true? If a team is doing a fantastic job, they should be held accountable for the positive results they’re achieving, and be rewarded. 

Many CEOs see accountability as a powerful tool for trust-building and empowering staff. In turn, it improves employee engagement and creates a culture of goal-setting and achieving those goals.

So what kind of activities best instill a sense of accountability in your teams? We’ve got a list of solutions.

13 of our best activities to improve accountability

Here are 13 of our best team-building activities that encourage accountability all around the office.

1. Team bucket list challenge

In a time where everyone can search online for endless information, who hasn’t created a bucket list of things they want to do before they leave this world? Bringing the benefits of personal goal-setting into the workplace is a fantastic way to improve team accountability.

This activity aims to encourage each person to reach the goals on their bucket list. Give an hour or two to your teams for them to really think about goals to add. As they add things like holiday locations and new languages, they’ll likely add work-specific goals too!  Promotions and workplace awards are great goals to aim for.

Get all of these goals collected and share them as a group. As each person eventually achieves their goals, celebrate with them! Team members will be cheering each other on, ticking off the group bucket list as they go!

2. Leadership on a “desert island”

Create a little game of “desert island” (no real sand needed) and split groups into teams. Allocate one leader for each group of stranded islanders. Prepare beforehand some challenges and realistic problems they would face if they were all stranded on a desert island. Give them a(hypothetical) limited amount of water, food and supplies.

This is only role-play, but the aim is for the leader to best share the limited resources. Ask the leader to report how the group is doing every 10 minutes. The fun is in giving new challenges to them, so if you’re feeling especially playful, try telling them the island is about to be covered by a huge typhoon, or some other devastating natural disaster. This team-building activity boosts leadership and accountability in a fun and unique way, so give it a shot!

3. Team personality tests

Get your groups to participate in personality tests, like a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, for example. This helps team members improve their understanding of how they function in their roles within the organization. Once they’ve assessed their personalities, have a group session where everyone reports their findings and expresses how they feel about it.

They might be surprised to learn some new aspects of their personality, and you might also learn new things about how teams are formed and how to get the most out of them. Defining roles and understanding personality types is beneficial for discovering the types of teambuilding activities that work best for your groups, as well as understanding their role and the functions they are accountable for. 

4. Running or fitness clubs

Here’s one to get accountability boosted outside of the office walls. There are countless apps and programs out there for fitness and exercise, so consider setting team goals that relate to their physical fitness.

Set up a running or cycling club where you meet outside of the office and do it all together. Alternatively, set goals with each member for what they want to achieve through fitness, like a certain amount of weight they’d like to lose or a distance they’d like to run. If you’ve got the energy and the willpower, then join them as often as possible as they do it! Share achievements and rewards publicly as a group to encourage accountability! Ready? Set. Go!

5. “Fun fails” award ceremony

So here’s a fun little team-building activity that takes a pinch of bravery and honesty, but does wonders for communication and normalizes making mistakes. In fast-paced work environments, sometimes the fear of making a mistake can hold people back, especially with new starters.

Ask each person to think of the biggest mistake they’ve made so far this year, that they’re comfortable with sharing. Once everyone has shared, the team votes on which mistake is the “biggest fail” of them all. Award this person with a reward called the “biggest fail of the year award.” Keep the tone playful and light, nothing too severe. By doing this, you’re creating an atmosphere where mistakes are accepted, as we all learn from them.

6. Personal story sharing

Here’s another activity that works best in an atmosphere of open honesty and genuine reflection. Create a workshop called “personal story sharing,” where each member crafts up a story that covers what they see as their personal strengths and weaknesses. Give each member an hour to craft up their short story and encourage them to be relatable.

Then, share the stories as a group. Ask for input and feedback from each member of the team, and how they feel about the story. This works as a great icebreaker, especially if you have newer team members. You can start by opening the story and sharing yourself. Get the good vibes flowing!

7. Productivity workshops

When the intention is to improve workplace accountability, exercises focused on productivity can also provide a great boost and get teams in the right mindset. Try out some workshops with productivity ideas like group calendar creation and escape rooms.

Get teams working together to solve problems and focus on productive outcomes. Try tasks with leaders who designate responsibilities and accountability to their teams. During the debrief, communicate the lessons learned and the importance of accountability for team tasks. Watch as your teams soar to new levels through workshops that keep accountability in mind!

8. Group vision board creation

Here’s a great activity that brings goals and achievements to life. Get a nice clear space sorted where a vision board can be set up on the wall for all to see. Ask each member to set personal objectives and create a vision of their future. Encourage them to print images and add artistic ideas to poster paper.

After their individual vision is created, have them mash their posters together into one larger picture, and get this big vision plastered up onto the wall for all to see. A vision board is and easy reminder for everyone to continue to reach for the stars and achieve their goals. It’s a very powerful tool, so use it!

9. The “blame game”

One aspect of the technical definition of accountability is the person accepting the outcomes of their actions. This is a good learning opportunity to create a playful game that revolves around blame. It’s not supposed to be too serious and involves a little imagination and role-play.

The aim is to show how blaming others is not good for group productivity, so craft up a list of scenarios where one person (like a customer) blames another person (like a service provider). The customer blames the server for something that isn’t their fault, and the server tries to find a way to manage the scenario. Keep it light-hearted, and share insights in the debrief to show the damage that unjustified blame can cause.

10. Human knot

Here’s a popular team-building exercise that builds bonds in a fun way. It’s very simple in principle. You can do this as a whole group, or split everyone into teams of more than 4 people. The objective is for everyone to stick out their hands in front of them, and grab a hand randomly from the others in the circle. There should be a really messy knot of arms at this point.

Then, tell every group they have to find a way to untangle the knot without ever letting go of a hand before the time runs out. This simple exercise highlights how individual input can have a big effect on the group as a whole. Try this one out for a little chaos in the office.

11. Weekly group accountability check-ins

You might already have individual check-ins in place, scheduled weekly or monthly. Take the principle of friendly and productive check-ins and apply it to larger groups. A great way to do this is by creating a leader who’s accountable for the group’s performance on the week’s task. 

Don’t make the atmosphere too heavy, remember the principle of these group check-ins is to trial out leaders and see how they manage the group’s accountabilities. Going about this the right way can even kick-start a future leader among your teams!

12. Project marathon sharing

Getting everyone to share the projects they’re working on as a group is a great way to get everyone on the same page. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our own projects that we forget to keep everyone up-to-speed, so take the opportunity to get everyone to share their project marathons.

At the end of each presentation, have everyone practice giving constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement. Simple activities like this with group feedback encourage accountability and collaboration across teams.

13. Role-play scenarios

Role-playing and simulating work scenarios are popular because they’re so customizable. If everyone sticks to their role, sometimes team bonds can suffer and people forget to see things from someone else’s perspective.

Use versatility and flexibility to craft your role-play scenarios. Customer with a salesperson, or even a manager with a new hire. Mix and match performers to play out each scenario from outside of their current department. You’ll be encouraging accountability and shining new lights on situations that provide a fresh perspective for your teams. 

Bonus: A principle for all activities

Finally, to round off our list we have a principle that applies to all activities. Take the theme of today’s activities and carry it into all future endeavors. Whether times are hard or everything is smooth sailing in the office, make sure you hold yourself accountable. 

Be the example your teams need to see and the leader they can get behind. There’s no better way to teach a new principle at work than to become a living example. Here’s to stronger team bonds and an office that buzzes with positive accountability!

Strengthen accountability on a company retreat!

So you want your teams to strengthen their accountability while solidifying team bonds? We totally understand why. These activities work great in an office setting, but they’re elevated to the next level when done offsite.

We organize work team retreats that work wonders for team building. A twice-annual retreat bonds employees in new ways, and for new members of staff, it’s an amazing opportunity!

We've had the pleasure of organizing over 700+ retreat experiences, including remote teams, for many different companies. Here’s what we offer:

• Stress-free transfers? We got you! ✅
• Quality-assured accommodations? Check! ✅
• Engaging team-building activities? Our speciality ✅
• Restaurant reservations? That's on us! ✅
• Expert retreat planning assistance? Of course, we have this covered! ✅
• Onsite support, tailored to your needs? Absolutely ✅

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Not only this but we also have access to 160+ locations around Europe, APAC, the US, Latin America, and now Africa, meaning the sky is your limit when it comes to choosing the right location for you and your team.

As we know, accountability means accepting the outcomes of your actions, for better and for worse. You know how hard your teams work, so why not help reward them with an unforgettable retreat while they build team bonds? Leave us to take care of the logistics. Spaces are limited, get in touch now!