The Key to Accountability

On last month, we looked at Daily Goal Setting and how this technique has changed my life and business. As promised, I would like to offer keys to your success with daily goal setting. One very important one is Accountability.

In so many areas of our lives accountability has been and will always be a very important factor in living. Our parents or guardians held us accountable for daily living and chores. Our teachers have made us accountable for academic and extra curricula success and even our employers and managers, for professional success. So how much more should be held accountable for our business success? It is really a way that we are used to living; being managed. When we begin to look ahead to future goals, there needs to be a formula for accountability and a measurement for how it has worked for us. When you begin, it may take a person that will celebrate your achievements while making you sweat to assist you in this process.

I often tell the story about how some years ago I worked with a team in Africa. While on a long layover in Ethiopia, a group of ladies had a chance to sit and talk about how we would like to see our lives changed for the better. There were some of us that had goals in our hearts that for years never went further than a piece of paper. The group included those who were afraid to move forward because of a rocky past, like me. There were those who had already achieved major goals. Lastly, there were some who had not only achieved goals, but had strong personalities that were not tolerating words of weakness. We made a group pact that day to be accountable to each other in the topics we discussed at that table. Four years later, we are still the group that celebrates each other when we share our stories of victory. The key to our new found success was that someone cared enough to care about someone else.

Here are a few steps that you can use to assist you:

-Write down your long range goals. I don’t believe that long range should be a year or even 6 months. Try 3 months.

-Research the topics relevant to your achieving your goals

-Choose someone in your life that you respect. This person will be someone who has known that you have a desire to move forward in a certain area in your life. He/she needs to be someone who will expect you to achieve. Most importantly, someone who will make you sweat if you are not coming close. This will be the person that you will present your report to weekly.

-Take a personal inventory of what has prevented you to date from moving toward your destiny. This is an area that you have to take off the mask, loose the chains and look deep in your heart. You may benefit from having an opportunity for coaching or workshops in this area.

-Keep your pad and pen handy so that you can track your ideas and progress.

-Decide with your chosen personal accountability coach what your daily goals need to be. They need to be realistic and specific to the area that you are moving towards. Example, if your goal is to loose 20 pounds, one daily goal may be to make a Dr’s appointment to get clearance on a workout program and diet. Another may be to purchase a scale. The scale will be what you will use when reporting to your partner. The results of your meeting will be up to you!

These are just a few tips to get you started. If you are true to yourself first, then to another who will assist you, you will soon see yourself changing into a self-driven goal setter. I now set goals and discuss the ways for it to happen with a team of men who women who support what I have built with accountability.

Best wishes to you and your future!
Karen L. Donald
Copyright Karen L. Donald July 2009