Plans are great, but it’s action that makes a difference. And a great way to ensure action is accountability.
I talk to business owners all the time who feel like they’re underperforming. They’re unclear about how to reach their goals, grow their business, and stick to a business plan. This isn’t new. Business leaders have long struggled to stay accountable to their goals.
Why is it so hard?
Often, we hear the phrase “hold someone accountable.” But is it possible to hold yourself accountable? Many business owners try, but oftentimes find themselves abandoning their goals, projects, and returning to their old ways.
Even among the most disciplined among us, it’s easy to let things slip when there’s no one but ourselves to answer to.
So how can accountability lead to success, and how can you leverage it to hit even your biggest goals?
It’s human nature to take care of the things that someone else is counting on us for or that we know someone will be asking us about. We are hard-wired to want to follow through on our commitments.
So, if we want to uplevel our success, we make commitments to do the things that will get us there. We can’t just make those commitments, we need to make those commitments to someone else. And we need those people to regularly check in with us on our progress.
An American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) study discovered that people who commit their goals to another person were 65% more likely to complete it and 95% more likely if they made (and followed through) on a specific accountability meeting with this person.
That is why accountability is so important.
And the best way to get that accountability is to find an accountability partner.
You want to be a better leader, and it’s an accountability partner’s job to help you achieve this potential. Having a partner is the best way to ensure you (and they) will accomplish your goals and get back on track after a lapse in productivity or progress.
Bottom line, your accountability partner will help you grow your business bigger, better, and faster.
How To Work With Your Accountability Partner
You and your accountability partner will achieve this work by focusing on four key areas.
Establish Clear, Specific Goals
What do you want to accomplish?
You may think Easy, I want to grow a bigger, better business.
But I challenge you to think beyond terms like “bigger” and “better” are filler words that we use when we’re not exactly sure what goals are or are supposed to be. So how do we avoid this kind of empty, filler language? Get specific!
Goals are the bricks that build a bigger, better business. Together determine your biggest goals. Take those larger goals and chunk them into more manageable goals.
Once you have your “bricks” you can begin to make a plan of how to build them into your biggest goal. Think of it like a blueprint you will follow. The more clear and specific your blueprint the easier it will be for you to follow and your partner to monitor to help you return to the right place if you get off track.
Regular Check-ins
You and your accountability partner should have should have regular check-ins. Remember that ASTD study? Regular check-ins make you 95% more likely to achieve your goals.
At these check-ins, not only will you make sure you’re on course, but you will have a chance to ask questions and adjust your approach if needed. This is a collaborative check-in. It works best when you communicate your needs and give feedback. Help your partner help you by letting them know what is and isn’t working for you. This will establish trust in the partnership and strengthen your work’s effectiveness.
Evaluate Progress
Are you happy with your results?
You can’t answer this question without measurable goals and a defined starting point.
The best way for you and your partner to know that you’re making progress is to have clear checkpoints and success markers. A good way to do this is to spend some time at the beginning when you’re creating the goal to define what success looks like.
Sustain Habits
When you work with an accountability partner, not only are you more likely to achieve your goals, you are more likely to create sustainable, positive habits that will carry over into your future endeavors. You will learn invaluable things with your partner, like what types of goals are achievable for you in a given time period. You will also discover your ideal balance of goal work and your required daily operations.
In this partnership you will set the precedent of how you will achieve all your biggest goals and the progress you make with your partner will continue into a legacy of success for your business.
Accountability leads to success in two important ways.
High Performance
You will perform better when you have an accountability strategy.
Not only will you more easily define what your business’s future looks like, but you will work more efficiently towards the goals you set for yourself. An accountability partner inspires a higher level of commitment towards your goals and increases your will to accomplish them.
Long-term Success
Working with an accountability partner is a great way to ensure your business’s long-term success.
On your own you may become overwhelmed in the day-to-day of operating your business or get bogged down defining what success looks like for your business and what goals you actually need to accomplish. A partner will help you generate ideas, develop your plan, and provide the support you need to stick to it.
Remember, accountability is an action. Together you and your accountability partner will define what success is for your business and build an action plan to get you there faster and easier.
Need an accountability partner?