Accountability at work isn't about punishment. It's the career skill nobody teaches. In this episode, Andrew talks with Jessica Bollotta, Corporate Project Manager at Achieva Credit Union and longtime CFTEA instructor, about what it actually takes to do your job well AND hold others accountable when they don't do theirs, without making enemies.

Fresh data from Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace report frames why this skill matters more right now than at any point in the last five years. Jessica offers the reframe most people never get: accountability isn't the end of a rope, it's the beginning of trust. If you've ever felt stuck between covering for a coworker and calling out the pattern, this one is for you.

Verified references● Gallup 2026 State of the Global Workplace report:global employee engagement at 20%, manager engagement at 22% (down from 27% in 2025), total productivity cost of low engagement at approximately $10 trillion globally in 2025, equal to roughly 9% of global GDP.

● Gallup 2025 State of the Global Workplace report: the2024 disengagement cost of $438 billion, engagement peaked at 23% in 2022-2023 before beginning the current decline.

● Gallup Q2 2025 U.S. engagement measurement: only 47% of employees strongly agree they know what is expected of them at work. Down from approximately 55% pre-pandemic. Cross-generational; applies to entire workforce.

● PMI 2024 Pulse of the Profession: organizations withformal accountability frameworks report 72% of projects meeting original scope and timeline; those without struggle with delays in 63% of projects.

● American Psychological Association Work in America 2024 report: psychological safety and accountability are complementary, not opposed. Safety enables the honest feedback that accountability requires.

● PwC 2024 Trust Survey: 22% of employees say they haveleft a company because of trust issues; 61% report that a perceived lack of trust from leadership affects their ability to do their jobs well.

● Toxic workplace cost estimate: U.S. employers lostroughly $223 billion over five years due to toxic workplace culture (SHRM, cited in workplace research 2024-2025).