The adoption of online teaching and learning in educational settings poses a notable challenge to teachers as they are required to implement student-centered pedagogy in online learning environments. This is often hindered by teachers' insufficient preparation in this area. The current study hinges on two underexplored aspects that may explain this challenge among faculty teaching in teacher training colleges, both related to the link between professionals and their workplace: innovative work behavior and personal accountability. This study sought to examine higher education teachers' perceived innovative behavior and personal accountability as precursors of their reported distance learning practices during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Data were gathered from 303 faculty members from public teacher training colleges. Data were analyzed by using Partial Least Squares--Structural Equation Modeling. Based on our findings, innovative teachers reported using more student-centered approaches in distance learning than traditional practices. Another finding showed that high levels of external accountability were associated with traditional teaching routines focused on setting clear rules for student behavior in online environments and enforcing these rules. Hence, teachers who placed an emphasis on delivering timely reports to their managers and believed they should be evaluated by their students' final grades, were more inclined towards traditional approaches to teaching. Internal accountable teachers tended to employ adaptive instructional practices, underscoring the quality of the learning process. Implementations and directions for future research are discussed.