Compliance Isn’t Accountability

Compliance matters. It has a role. But compliance and accountability are not the same thing, and confusing the two creates real problems.

In this episode of Behind the Measures, Geremy Hurley breaks down the difference between compliance and accountability, why systems often default to compliance, and what it costs when checking the box replaces meaningful follow-through. The episode explores how compliance focuses on requirements and verification, while accountability asks whether the work actually achieved its intended outcome, and what needs to change when it doesn’t.

This conversation is for anyone working in systems where the rules are being met, but the same problems keep showing up, and where real improvement depends on moving beyond compliance toward learning, ownership, and action.

The views expressed in this podcast are my own and do not represent the views of my employer or any affiliated organizations.