Summer is a great time to refocus on important planning at your firm. You’ve probably set many goals for the year ahead, but it can get lonely on the journey toward reaching them. Having an accountability partner not only makes the process more fun, but it will keep you motivated and prevent you from lying to yourself or sliding off the rails.
My girls are at an age when they love bedtime stories. As Winnie the Pooh liked to say, “It’s so much better with two.” When you’re alone, it’s easy to tell yourself: “Maybe I’ll just work on that project tomorrow.” But when you have the right kind of accountability partner, you’re more likely to stay on track and achieve those goals.
The key is to have an accountability partner you like and respect. No matter how good and reliable your accountability partner is, if you don’t respect them, you’re never going to be accountable to them. Your accountability partner should also be someone who is objective. I don’t recommend asking your spouse, sibling or close friend to be your accountability partner. They’re too likely to tell you what you want to hear, rather than what you need to hear.
Where do you find an accountability partner? There’s no right or wrong answer to that question. It could be a colleague or a mentor at your firm. It could also be someone outside your firm. It could be a CPA at another firm. It could be an attorney, consultant or other outside service professional you work with. It just needs to be a trusted ally to whom you can say, “Hey, I’m going to be reporting to you on this. This is what I’m holding myself accountable to and I need you to help me do it.”
And it needs to be someone who is equally committed to keeping you on track.
Here's an example: I’m part of an entrepreneurs organization with seven other business owners. We have a Slack channel called “Health & Fitness.” Every day, members post their workouts so we can check in on each other’s progress. As a result, everyone is working out harder than they ever have before, because they’re answering to a group (not just themselves) and they’re getting lots of Aattaboys!” It’s very motivating. On the flipside, if we see someone isn’t hitting their commitments, we will give them a friendly reminder to get moving.
Having someone on the other end of the line to push you toward your goals can be incredibly helpful.
Whether it’s a business goal or a personal goal, having an accountability partner makes you more conscientious and purposeful in your decisions because you know you’re going to have to report your progress to that person.
Next steps
1. Identify a goal. What do you really want to be working on that could move your health, your business, or your personal growth forward in a big way?
2. Use your time efficiently. Whether it’s being a better parent, spouse, businessperson or friend, being accountable to someone else shouldn’t be all consuming. Think about a small number of activities — taking up no more than 4% of your time — that could have the biggest impact on your life right now. You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule. Suppose you applied the 80/20 rule to the 80/20 rule? That will give you the 64/4 rule (80/20 x 80/20 = 64/4). This means two-thirds (64%) of your results come from just 4% of your most effective time. My article on
3. Find an accountability partner to keep you on track to reach that goal. It doesn’t have to be a big time commitment for your accountability partner or for you. It could be a daily text with each other. It could be a weekly 30-minute check in via Zoom, phone or Facetime if you’re too far away to meet in person. The key is to be prepared each time you connect to report to your partner about some measurable progress you’ve made toward your goal.
4. Agree on a cadence for accountability. Whether it’s a daily, weekly or monthly check-in or meeting, be consistent about how often you touch base with each other. Just make your accountability meetings a regular and consistent habit. Whatever frequency you agree on with your accountability partner, make sure you’re both present at the appointed time and ready to share. By the way, your accountability partner can be a group or an individual.
As the old saying goes: “What gets measured gets managed.”
Take advantage of this summer’s planning season and have a little fun. Set big goals and share your progress with someone you can trust. Even if you don’t ultimately reach your destination, you’ll grow from the experience either way. It’s always better with two (or more).
For more on personal goal setting and accountability see my recent articles:
