Accountability is a misunderstood concept. It’s regarded as something that you “do to” someone else. And is often equated with bad behavior, broken promises, missed deadlines, and negative consequences.
Well, my friend, if that’s how YOU would define accountability, you’ve got it all wrong.
So keep on reading, as we’re explaining what accountability really is and how you can use it to honor the commitments you make to yourself and others.
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
The 12-Week Year by Brian Moran
Trello
Asana
Teamwork
Daily Achievers’ Virtual Cafe
[Theresa] In the book, The 12 Week Year, Brian Moran defines accountability as ownership.
He says, “Accountability is not consequences, but ownership. It is a character trait, a life stance, a willingness to own your actions and results regardless of the circumstances.”
Moran further explains that it’s not possible to hold someone else accountable. Meaning, you can’t hold someone else to account. And others cannot hold you to account.
[Meghan] Yet, you often hear phrases like, “We need to hold them accountable.” Or, “I just need someone to hold me accountable.”
Phrases like these refer to consequences, not accountability.
What is Accountability?
[Theresa] That’s right. The truth is, the only accountability is self-accountability.
Simply put, being accountable means accepting responsibility for your own actions.
Sadly, it’s become as acceptable as breathing to look for someplace to lay blame. Instead of looking to oneself we pass the buck onto someone or something else.
For example, you’re running late for an appointment and you blame traffic or faulty GPS. But in reality, you left your house later than you should have.
Or, you miss the deadline for your client’s monthly report. You blame the power outage from the day before, but you really should have started that report sooner.
Perhaps you set a quarterly revenue goal and fall way short. You blame the economy or a competitor. However, you weren’t clear on your marketing strategy and got distracted by other shiny objects.
[Meghan] Even if you make an honest mistake, often the first reaction is to not accept responsibility.
In other words, you don’t take accountability for the outcome. Instead, you look for a reason that absolves you from the outcome.
Why is that?
Why You Don’t Hold Yourself Accountable
[Theresa] Great question, Meghan. When you lay blame elsewhere, it gives you control of the narrative. You get to say what happened, why it happened, and why it isn’t your fault.
[Meghan] Depending on who or what you’re blaming, you could come across as the hero of the story you tell. Or, it could make you look like a victim.
Whatever the outcome, the blaming prevents you from being accountable for your actions.
[Theresa] When it comes right down to it, blaming is a defense mechanism that protects the ego. It’s easier to blame someone or something else than to hold ourselves accountable.
That’s not much of a surprise when you think about it.
I mean, you aren’t taught how to be accountable to yourself. And, to be honest, it’s easier to point the finger in another direction than back at you.
That is to say, taking responsibility is the right thing to do, but not always the easiest. Right?
Consequences of Blame and Avoidance
[Meghan] True. But, while it may offer some relief in the moment, blaming to avoid being accountable has consequences. Especially if you’ve made a habit of doing so.
[Theresa] You may:
- Lose someone’s trust, including self-trust
- Take longer to recover from a setback
- Hurt someone else unintentionally
- Fail to see the real cause of a problem
- Forfeit healthy relationships because you avoid honest conversation
- Lose positive influence on yourself and others
- Never realize your full potential as a business leader
- Lose faith in your own capabilities
[Meghan] And, those are just some of the consequences of avoiding self-accountability. So beware.
Why It’s Important to Hold Yourself Accountable
[Theresa] But let’s not be all gloom and doom. While you may feel uncomfortable at times, being accountable for yourself brings tremendous benefits.
When you have accountability, you:
- Can more easily measure your own success
- Accelerate your performance
- Improve your productivity
- Increase your creativity
- Will be more responsible
- Gain confidence in your abilities
- Earn the respect and trust of others
[Meghan] And likely these benefits will help you win more business, too. After all, people want to do business with those that they respect, admire, and of course, know, like, and trust.
That trust is not only built by delivering on what you promised, but also by taking ownership when things don’t go as you planned.
[Theresa] That’s right. People don’t expect you to be perfect. They know you’re human. So deal with your challenges with honesty and integrity and you’ll earn the respect of your clients and colleagues.
3 Strategies You Can Use to Hold Yourself Accountable
[Meghan] As Theresa mentioned earlier, one of the reasons you don’t hold yourself accountable is that you aren’t taught how to hold yourself accountable.
Well, we’re going to address that right now. Theresa’s has three strategies that you can easily implement right now.
1) Understand What You’re Accountable For
[Theresa] The first strategy you can use to hold yourself accountable is to make sure you understand what you’re actually accountable for. In other words, know which parts and pieces you’re responsible to deliver in whatever you’re doing.
[Meghan] That makes sense. It’s going to be easy for tasks to slip through the cracks if you’re not certain who is responsible for what.
[Theresa] Exactly. Be very clear before you start a project about what the action steps are and who is assigned to those steps. This way you can take ownership of your actions.
For example, my assistant and I both contribute to the production of the Daily Achievers’ Blog. The steps are meticulously laid out in our project management tool. And those action items are assigned to one or the other of us.
Knowing what each of us is responsible for keeps us accountable to the timeline we set and prevents us from holding up the other.
[Meghan] Very smart. But, what if you are a team of one?
[Theresa] Great question! Same deal. In order to get a project or task over the finish line, you still need to identify your action steps. Ideally, before you begin.
Knowing what you need to do will make it easier to stay accountable for the tasks you need to do. And therefore, to the project as a whole.
Even a solo entrepreneur can benefit from a project management tool like Trello or Asana.
[Meghan] Great advice. I use the Teamwork app, and I really like it. I’ve used it with my team, when I had a team. And I’m still using it now that I’m mostly solo. It’s great for both situations, and it’s affordable. There’s also a free plan. Okay, what’s next?
2) Avoid Overcommitting Yourself
[Theresa] The second strategy you can use to hold yourself accountable is to avoid over-committing yourself.
One reason that you fail to hold yourself accountable is that you bite off more than you can chew. It’s difficult to stay accountable when you’re overwhelmed.
[Meghan] I’ve definitely done that. It’s easy to do, especially if you struggle with saying no to things that aren’t really a priority.
[Theresa] Also guilty! The problem is that when you commit to too many things you become overwhelmed. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.
Saying yes to too many things makes it practically impossible to hold yourself accountable. But you can avoid this pitfall by being a little better organized.
One helpful tactic is to assign due dates and deadlines to any projects you have going on and note them on your calendar. This will give you a more realistic view of how you need to spend your time.
Then, the next time an opportunity comes your way, pause before saying yes. Consult your calendar to see if you can actually fit it into your schedule.
[Meghan] Remember that overcommitment doesn’t always involve saying yes to other people. You can use this same strategy to avoid trying to do too many things for yourself as well.
For example, let’s say you’re attempting to launch an online course while starting a blog and a YouTube channel all in a month’s time. This would be a recipe for disaster unless you had a huge team.
Holding yourself accountable for all of the action steps needed to successfully achieve all three of these projects is likely unrealistic. So really think about what’s important to you. And keep it simple. Even with a team, it’s best to tackle one big project at a time.
3) Find Accountability Partners
[Theresa] Great advice, Meghan. This brings us to our last strategy for holding yourself accountable. And that’s to find accountability partners.
[Meghan] But, wait a minute. I thought that other people can’t hold us accountable.
[Theresa] Yes, I did say that. And I meant it.
It’s true that one person cannot hold another one accountable. But you can use the power of people to help keep you on track, stick to your commitments, and improve your productivity in the process.
I’ll be honest. I have no idea why, but something changes when you tell someone else.
[Meghan] Why is that?
[Theresa] I think two things happen when you tell someone your plans.
- It makes an abstract idea more concrete and real.
- There’s a part of you that wants to stay true to your word. You said you were going to do it and now that someone is looking, you are inspired to do the work.
[Meghan] Give us an example.
An Example of Accountability
[Theresa] The best example I can give is when I decided to launch my first course.
I’d thought about creating a course for years. I dreamed about it, looked at software, created outlines, came up with module names, and more.
What I didn’t do was actually launch.
Even though I’d gotten as far as setting a launch date and writing out the whole course creation and launch process, I never took any serious action.
I wasn’t being accountable for my plan.
Now there were other challenges that got in the way. Though I was planning, I didn’t speak about it. I kept the details to myself.
The point I’m trying to make is, not talking about the course or even saying I was considering making one meant I didn’t have to own my actions or, rather, inactions.
And as a result, earlier courses I’d planned out never came to fruition.
[Meghan] So what changed?
[Theresa] I started telling people. Once I did, I was much more motivated to get that course done.
I don’t know. Maybe it’s an integrity thing. Holding myself accountable to launch got a lot easier.
[Meghan] So, it’s not that the people who knew about the course made sure the work got done. It’s not like they imposed consequences if the work didn’t get done.
Rather, the act of telling someone who would ask Theresa about her progress was enough to inspire her to reach her goal.
[Theresa] That’s right. Having accountability partners made the biggest impact on my business. My progress and productivity exploded.
The Impact of Accountability
You don’t just have to take my word for it though.
There have been lots of studies on this subject. As a matter of fact, research shows that your success rate can increase as much as 95% when you have accountability partners.
[Meghan] That’s a significant increase. Imagine what it would mean for your business to achieve a 95% success rate!
Over the last year, I’ve seen Theresa make massive progress, so I have seen firsthand what a difference an accountability partner has made in her business.
By the way, if you didn’t know this, Theresa has been my coach and my accountability partner in the past, and she has helped me launch a few new products in a short amount of time. Having an accountability partner can be one of those little shifts that result in big achievements.
[Theresa] Oh yeah. In fact, I’ve benefited so much from accountability partners that I started my own accountability group called the Daily Achievers’ Virtual Cafe.
We use community, communication, and co-working to advance our business goals. A lot gets done during co-working sessions. It’s loads of fun, too.
[Meghan] Sounds like a great deal!
When You Hold Yourself Accountable, You Are Limitless in What You Can Achieve
[Theresa] I hope that you’ve gotten a clearer picture on what it really means to hold yourself accountable. Remember, accountability is not about consequences, but rather it’s ownership and being responsible for one’s own actions.
This means that you have more power than you think. When you embrace being accountable, you’re limitless in what you can achieve in business and in life.
[Meghan] As we always say, start small. Choose one strategy to try, and really practice it so that you see the benefits.
[Theresa] That’s it from us. We’d love to hear from you. Which accountability strategy will you put into effect this year? Leave us a comment below.
Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don’t miss an episode or click the FOLLOW US button below to get notified when a new episode and blog post launch each week.
