The power of accountability is especially prevalent in a growing business. Did you ever wonder why after leaving school, children who loved to play musical instruments never play them again? It is the same reason why intentions that we don’t achieve are the ones that were never spoken about. Similar applies to why people hire a personal trainer, go to exercise classes or join a running club. As without bringing your goals out of your head into the real world, sharing them with people and getting some support there is no accountability.
What is the power of accountability in business?
Accountability motivates you to achieve your goals and drives you towards your dreams. It accelerates your ability to take action encouraging you to take consistent steps and achieve steady growth.
When you have a clear goal and are willing to allow others to help you fulfil your dreams you are accountable to those helping you. Being accountable to others is empowering. Committing to doing something you’ve shared with someone else makes you responsible. Pushing you to complete what you set out to do. This works due to the influence of social expectations.
The culture of accountability in business
In the workplace accountability often means working in a team to accomplish goals together. Working on projects and making plans in a team creates a culture of accountability. This helps ensure that the workforce turns up every day for work. They realise what is expected from them and reach milestones for themselves and each other. When working on your own that culture isn’t always there. Unless you work with others or enlist the support of a professional PA such as Sharon you lack the power of accountability. When others are involved even if you don’t directly answer to them you are still committed to agreements and expectations.
The importance of establishing accountability when growing
Establishing accountability is particularity important and powerful in a growing business. As accountability can eradicate the time and energy you spend procrastinating and doing unnecessary things. When you are accountable for your actions, essentially you are learning to value your work. Accountability increases your self-belief, skills and confidence, plus enables you to focus on more of what you love most about your business.
How to increase your productivity with accountability
It’s vital to be honest with yourself, about what you are capable of doing and understand what it is you need to learn. When you are not honest with yourself you can get in your own way. We can get stuck on the how and stop ourselves from achieving, especially when there is no-one around to work through the challenges with.
Being realistic about what we can achieve and the time we have to do it in is important to productivity levels and self-motivation. Setting goals, breaking them down, planning with milestones all help personal accountability!
Why I feel the power of accountability is valuable
The power of accountability is one of the main things I have learned to value since starting my own business. Without it, I wouldn’t have achieved my goals. It’s that simple! I started my entrepreneurial journey with a Business Coach; I now have a new coach and also an accountability partner. I spend time with people that I can talk with about my plans; it really makes a huge impact on my ability to make effective progress! Essentially, how do you hold yourself accountable in actually achieving your actions?
How to achieve accountability
Accountability comes in many forms, such as:
Having an accountability partner is a great way to help you stay consistent and committed to achieving your goals. This is a two-way process whereby you support each other to stay accountable. In the workplace, we would normally have a manager looming over us. This drives us to achieve our deadlines, but when we work independently we don’t have someone to keep us answerable. In turn, we lose this benefit to increase our ability in completing our actions.
The above have all worked for me, two of them being particularly effective forms of accountability. Emotional accountability which my family provides and financial accountability through paying a business coach. This is the formula that has made the biggest impact for me in accomplishing my goals.
How the power of accountability in business works
If you are starting up a small business or writing a book, you are only accountable to yourself. This can make it challenging to stay consistent. With no one pressuring you, ensuring you achieve your goals and deadlines it’s easier to let your timelines slip.
As an example of emotional accountability, it has been provided by my sons. I have learnt to do what I say I will do, through being their mother or they won’t hesitate to pull me up on it. I am painfully aware that my life choices make a huge impact on them. Their thoughts and beliefs are shaped by how I choose to live my life and bring them up.
What helps establish accountability?
Saying how much I wanted something like my own business meant I had to go out there and achieve it! My family provides a sense of accountability that is attached to my heart, stronger than anything else. Although it helped me realise I needed to take further steps in achieving my dream and did a great job in making me get started in my business. It was not enough on its own to carry me through the scary decisions I had to take that followed.
This brings me to the second most effective form of accountability for me which was to invest in a coach. Nothing has motivated me more to take action than going all in and putting down my own money. Having faith and trusting in me that I could build and grow a business was heightened by seeking help. More so by investing financially in the support I needed to get to where I wanted to be. Being motivated and encouraged to stay accountable every single day to the actions I had to take was so beneficial to me and got me to where I am today.
How to keep yourself accountable!
It’s good practice to regularly review and reflect on your processes, looking for ways you can improve how you do what you do! Ask yourself if your motivation drops how can you boost it? If you don’t have a natural flair for planning tracking and keeping to deadlines, how can you improve? Trello is a great way to help yourself get organised here is my referral link if you want to try it out. Be willing to get support, it’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help.
You can of course choose to do it alone, although you’ll miss out on the benefits gained just by talking to someone. Sharing your ideas and plans can be motivating, especially if it’s followed up by being asked how you are getting on. This can really provide encouragement and push you through times when faith in yourself is low. The more excited you feel about your goals, the easier it will be to continue achieving and accomplishing those tasks.
To find out more about accountability read this Forbes article.
To find out more about the practices I use with my clients to hold them accountable for what they set out to do contact me!
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