Want to do or change something but know you’re going to find it a struggle? Maybe you;ve tried before and not managed it? Find yourself setting goals or committing to new habits which you find it hard to stick to? Then accountability could be your friend….
When we commit ourselves to achieving something specific and measurable we are more likely to achieve it. Research shows that simply the act of writing it down, or saying it aloud, or rather than thinking it to ourselves means we are more likely to do it. That’s why on training courses you are often encouraged to share publicly the actions you plan to take – as trainers know that’s more likely to embed your learning by leading to practice.
As with any goal, to work well accountability requires clarity – if we say ‘I want to get fitter’ we are less likely to succeed than if we commit to ‘I want to walk 3 miles every day’. And, again as per goal-setting generally, we are more likely to put in the effort required if we own the goal as opposed to if someone else has told us to do it.
I’ve sometimes noticed, as a consultant, a reluctance to clarify measure of success – perhaps because the client fears failure and so being a bit fuzzy about the outcomes allows this question of success to be fudged. It’s true, some things are harder to measure than others, but we can usually make a reasonable assessment ifwe want to.
So accountability can be really simple to achieve – writing it down our goal and sticking it somewhere we’ll see it often can be enough to create the focus we need and encourage action.
Struggling with something and need to take accountability up a notch? Then bring in a social aspect to accountability – tell other people what you intend to do. If you’ve posted on social media that you’re going to run 13 miles that day when it starts rainin and the voice in your head suggests after 6 miles that you could just stop, then the prospect of telling others you didn’t stick to your word can help you keep going.
If you’ve committed yourself publicly to doing something that sense of shame if we have to admit we’ve failed can create another level of accountability. Just as knowing the support and recognition you’re likely to receive can help motivate. It’s like using the carrot and stick technique on yourself.
I was reminded of the power of social accountability when I accepted to sign a Twitter pledge recently not to fly in 2021. I had already decided (pre CV19) not to fly in 2020 and had planned holidays in locations we could reach by car or train, but I was wavering about a race in the Dolomites I have entered for June 2021. Getting there without flights would be very difficult without a lot of additional cost and travel time (days, not hours, extra). But once I’d signed this pledge (and publicly shared in on Twitter, where random strangers had ‘liked’ my pledge) I felt more accountable for this commitment already.
Arguably this technique isn’t too healthy or effective to rely on long-term but it can offer a boost when things are tough and you need that little extra push to keep going. For example, we know that when you start running if you arrange to go for a run with another person you are less likely to change your mind and skip that day. However once you’ve developed a habit of running and begin to enjoy it (honestly, that does happen) then you don’t need the social accountability of a running buddy to get out of the door each day.
As a coach I offer accountability to coachees – encouraging them to set themselves clear targets, specific actions to follow up between sessions, and checking in to see how they are progressing. I’m careful as a coach not to judge ‘success’ in following up goals or actions – that’s for the coachee to determine, they might not have completed an action because they had other priorities or their goals might evolve over time.
But accountability – in the traditional sense of holding oneself to account does have its uses. Above all else, it helps us keep ourselves honest about what really matters to us and whether we do what we say we want to.
