Do You Have an Accountability Partner?

ALL of us are extremely busy with the day-to-day demands of our work schedules and personal activities. In the midst of being busy, we often lose site of undertaking the important steps and activities necessary to achieve our career and life goals and objectives.

The concept of being held accountable in order to reach your goals is not a new concept in goal achievement but those that are truly successful very often engage the help of an accountability partner. An accountability partner takes on the role as an encourager and motivator -- someone who can help keep you on task and inspire you to forge ahead -- through the day-to-day obstacles, roadblocks and time-zappers.

The act of accountability serves to assist you along your journey. It requires you to accept responsibility for your actions and to stay true to your commitments. To help keep you committed and totally responsible for your actions and behaviors in reaching your goals, I highly recommend an Accountability Partner, whose only focus is keeping you on your path and providing you the encouragement and support you require along this journey.

Your accountability partner could be a friend, a co-worker, a former colleague or someone is a co-member with you in an organization. He or she will be your cheerleader along the way who will help hold you to your commitments when you waiver.

The idea is to hold regular weekly or bi-weekly meetings -- in person, by phone, via Skype, etc. -- with an accountability partner who will challenge, motivate, mentor, encourage and inspire you to achieve maximum results. Knowing that you are expected to report your progress each week and to discuss obstacles and challenges can be motivating and spur action.

Top Three Benefits of Working with an Accountability Partner:

Accountability and Responsibility

Most goals are not achieved because we are not held accountable to anyone to achieve them. An accountability partner can help hold you accountable to reach your goals and monitor your actions to ensure you are on the right path.

Idea Sharing, Creativity and Brainstorming

Your accountability partner will come with different experiences, perspectives and ideas that will help you overcome your obstacles and challenges. Having the ability to brainstorm and be creative with another person focused on helping you solve a problem is one of the biggest benefits you will experience from an accountability partner.

Motivational Support

Staying positive and motivated is a big challenge for some, especially after the excitement of starting to work on a goal has worn off and the task itself simply becomes work to do. Goals take time, hard work and determination and results often do not come as quickly as one would hope. This can be very frustrating and causes many to become unmotivated. By surrounding yourself with a supportive accountability partner, you will receive positive encouragement that will likely inspire and stimulate you to move forward.

Once you've selected your Accountability Partner and you're satisfied that he or she has met most or all of the recommended selection guidelines, then implementing a proven and effective process will be key to sustaining a mutually valuable relationship.

We highly recommend implementing the following proven framework:

• Pick a Time That Works -- A "Standing Time" Works Best. Figure out a good time that works for both of you and stick with it. We highly recommend a "standing time" -- scheduling the call at exactly the same time and the same day each week you agree to meet. With a standing time, you are less likely to forget or miss the appointment.

• Agree Upon the Frequency of Your Call. Accountability calls should be no more frequent than once per week and no less frequent than once every other week.

• Agree Upon the Length of Your Call. If you meet once per week, then a call length of 40 minutes to an hour should be sufficient (allowing 20-30 minutes for each of you). If you meet once every other week, then a 90 minute call might work best for you (45 minutes each).

• Be Consistent. Honor your appointment with each other. Make a commitment going into the relationship that you will work hard not to have to reschedule or cancel calls. You will no doubt come to value and "protect" your accountability call time.

• Eliminate Distractions. Find a quiet place to conduct the call. Turn off your email "bell" or close down your email application. Turn off your cell phone and forward your office phone to voice mail. Set all other work aside. "Be there" and "be totally present" for your partner -- you should expect the same from them.

• Have an Agreed-Upon Agenda. Having an agenda is key; it keeps the call focused and allows you to complete the call in your agreed upon time-frame. Three key components of you agenda should include the following: (1) Status update and loop back on the next actions that were committed to during the last session; (2) Celebration and acknowledgment of successes and achievements of your partner; (3) Discussion of any challenges, obstacles, or issues with respect to your commitments, goals and objectives; and (4) Clear delineation of commitments and next actions between the current session and the next session.

• Stick to the Agenda. It’s easy to go off on tangents, but try to stay close to your agenda so that you get the most out of the call. Help hold each other accountable to sticking to the agreed-upon agenda

• Split the Call Time. Split the call time as evenly as possible between each of you; you might find it to be helpful to dedicate the first half the call to one person and the second half to the other.

• Be Ready to Learn. Keep an open mind to your partner's ideas and suggestions. Look for learning opportunities.

• Be Ready to Help. It’s likely that your partner will want you to review something here and there, so be available to him or her and try to follow up quickly. Also...LISTEN carefully, be responsive, and be empathetic. Approach the conversation with a "service" mindset.

• Take Good Notes. Have pen and paper ready to take notes so that you don’t forget things by the end of the call.

• Confirm Next Actions and Commitments. ALWAYS ensure each of you clearly delineate your next actions and commitments -- those things you commit to do in the intervening time between calls. Reflect your partner's commitments back to her and write them down.

• Debrief and Recap as Soon as You Hang-up. As soon as you hang up from the call, review your notes and review your next actions and commitments. Add those actions to your time management system -- your "to do" list, your calendar, your project list, etc.

• Consider Posting Commitments in a Shared Document. Google docs offers a great platform for sharing documents online. Putting your commitments "out there" for your Accountability Partner to see is a great way to enable your partner to track, monitor and comment upon your progress.

• Remember: Don't Wimp Out. Be frank and direct with your partner. Don’t sugar-coat your opinions and don't simply say what you think the other person wants to hear. The only way you will get real value out of this relationship is if you can count on each other to be upfront and honest. If you think the person is doing the wrong thing, making a bad choice, or even lagging behind, say so.