Often when a team is working on a common objective we assign roles to help clarify the expectations of each participant.  Two of these role designations are accountability and responsibility. 

I have found many friends, colleagues and acquaintances have different perspectives relative to the roles defined by these terms.  As well, there can be a different interpretation of the term between team members. 

Responsible or Accountable 

To be responsible means to be answerable for something within one’s power or control. Notice the two aspects of this definition – the ability to control plus being able to answer for something.

To be accountable means to be subject to giving an account or having the obligation to report, explain or justify something.  Ultimately this accountable role is “where the buck stops”.

That is, questions, decisions, collaboration can occur among the team, and should, but ultimately the person accountable needs to buy in as they will be the one in the hot seat. 

Or Both

It may be semantics but the tricky part is the interrelation between accountable and responsible.   Accountability probably means delegation of responsibility to someone else for the actual work, while retaining answerability.

So while the execution of the work is not directly under control of the accountable role, in essence, the shit could hit their fan harder than that of the designated responsible entity, so along with their accountability comes responsibility.

On the other hand

Those designated as responsible are answerable for the tasks assigned and so while they could sit back and watch the accountable person squirm they do have a real stake in the outcome, so in a way, for the piece under their control, they are accountable too.

The real differentiation

For me, the true differentiator for these two terms is who is actually doing the work.  Basically the accountable role assigns and oversees while the responsible role does the work.  Beyond that, both are answerable for results.