Accountability is the seed for success. It lays the groundwork for consistency, discipline and making progress towards any goal.
For some, being accountable on their own comes naturally. They are able to break down any goal into small manageable steps, and take consistent action in order to achieve success. They never waver from their vision and purpose even with daily distractions, failures and setbacks.
For some of us though, we do need help to keep us accountable. And that's totally okay. We NEED mentors, coaches, advisors, partners, or a dear family member or friend to keep us moving in the right direction; to keep us accountable on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis.
According to Merriam Webster's dictionary, Accountability is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one's actions.
There is no shame to ask for help. There is no reason to struggle on your own. We ALWAYS have the option and the right to establish a community that is supportive and provides a structure of accountability.
Sometimes it takes just one person to help you change your life. One to be there for you, to push you, to believe in you. It only takes one.
I have participated in some great accountability partnerships and I've participated in some that were a complete failure. What I found personally is that the key to a successful partnership is commitment. Both parties need to be committed to each other's success and not just their own. Success also comes from:
Setting a consistent time daily, weekly or monthly to meet.
Creating and keeping to a standard agenda for your meets
Giving each person an opportunity to share the past days, weeks or months accomplishments, challenges and failures.
Allowing time for problem/solution brainstorming
Keeping the partnership to 3 or less
Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to results.
This concept can be foreign for some so let me share a couple of examples.
A Success
Coaches are there to unlock a person's potential. We are cheerleaders, educators, therapists and fixer-uppers. As a coach I am blessed to work with clients who want to lose weight and learn a healthier lifestyle. In this one-on-one accountability partnership, I make sure we touch on all of the key success factors.
Commitment - A partnership only works if there is a WHY behind the initial intention/commitment from EACH party. For me, as their coach, my WHY is easy. I am committed to helping people transform their body and mind health so they can be liberated from their aches and pains, medicines, poor self image, exhaustion, negative mindset, and sometimes addiction from food. My client's WHY can vary but whatever their WHY is, it has to be identified before they begin and it has to be strong enough to weather the tough days.
Scheduling - The first week a client is on program we talk daily to make sure they are understanding the basics of the program. After the first week we meet weekly.
Agenda, Discussion, Brainstorming - We discuss how the past week went (the good, bad and ugly), what needs to be tweaked and how it should be tweaked. Having that weekly connection provides accountability which can make or break someone's success on program.
A Failure
A year ago I was blessed to participate in a 12 week intensive online course where I was surrounded by a community of like minded business creators. During the creative process we were highly encouraged to find an accountability partner (or two) to keep us on track for those 12 weeks. The first group I was part of started off with a bang but fizzled shortly thereafter. Why? If you look at the success factors I listed above we failed just about every success factor; our size (we had 4 which was too big), scheduling (we couldn't come up with a day/time that worked for everyone), commitment (some weren't as committed to the end result) and agenda (we had none).
So if you really want to reach a goal and are struggling on your own, an accountability partner may be the ticket to your future success. Whether you're trying to train for a marathon, be more consistent in your exercise, learn a new instrument, acquire a talent, or lose some weight, you'll have so much more success if you partner with a like-minded person.
If you decide to find a partner, look for someone who:
has the same goal in mind
has clearly indicated a commitment
can handle the structure that is necessary for a successful partnership
OR you can always look for a professional who can guide you with their expertise.
We need to stop trying to do everything on our own. If you really want to reach a specific goal then find your partner who will be there for you every step of the way. You'll find the magic in reaching it together.
People with accountability partners are 85% more likely to succeed.