We all strive to succeed in life. Whether that is professional success or success in other areas or our life. Certain personality traits have been linked to a greater likelihood of success (Di Fabio, Palazzeschi & Palazzeschi, 2009). This is independent of predispositions or “being talented”. In this three-part series I will try to offer help in developing three traits that are often acknowledged as factors that improve how likely we are to succeed. These three characteristics are: Self-awareness, Empowerment and Accountability. In my previous blog post I offered some ways in which you can become more self-aware and how to become more empowered. This blog post will concern itself with evidence-based ways through which you can create better accountability and therefore make it more likely that you will stick with your goals.

During most of our childhood we are being herded through the days. We have either parents, teachers or care-takers making sure that we do the things we are supposed to be doing at most points of time. Over time more and more of the people reminding us to brush our teeth and do our homework step back, allowing us to take the reins and become more independent. 

Soon after we start to notice that, unless we remind ourselves to do these things, tasks won’t get done. 

When we reach adulthood we often notice that we have barely any so-called external accountability left to nudge us. This is when we notice that unless we nudge ourselves or implement systems to give us needed nudges, we won’t do the things we are supposed to be doing.

Accountability can be divided into two types: External and internal accountability. “External accountability comes from the outside in, being accountable, not to oneself, but to others. It creates an environment that people feel compelled to follow, a set of social norms and standards.” (Bill Zipp).
Internal accountability comes from within ourselves. “Internal accountability is being accountable to oneself. It’s an individual’s personal commitment to be true to their values and to fulfill their promises” (Bill Zipp).

How to increase external accountability

Most likely you already have factors of external accountability “built” into your life. Whether they are teachers or your superiors at work, they have certain expectations of you that you need to abide by as part of the role you are holding. The following are some tips on how you can make use of these resources and create more external accountability.

Talk about it

If you want others to remind you of your goals, make sure others know about them! This creates occasional nudges from the people you have shared your ideas with. Sometimes it can be very motivating to be reminded of your original plans when the people whom you told about it want updates on the progress. While it is an easy way to create external accountability, it is an irregular one. Most likely people will not ask you about updates on a regular basis, if at all.

Ask the ones who care

A better way to create external accountability that gives you steady nudges is by telling the people who care about the goal. For example, your supervisor is interested in your progress on work projects. Let them know about what you are aiming for and be specific about it. Sometimes you might have to let them know that you would find it helpful if they checked in with you about it after a certain amount of time. 

There is an advantage to this strategy: While the people whom you are asking are invested in you reaching your goals, you are not asking them to invest a lot of time and energy in helping you. A simple email or question when they stop by your office can usually be fit into even the most busy manager schedule.

Accountability partner and groups

The next step up from the previous strategy is to create a more formal relationship or several relationships for the specific purpose of holding you and each other accountable. 

An accountability partner is a single person whom you agree with to check in with you and even work on your goals together. A frequent example of an accountability partner would be a “workout-buddy”. The goal of this relationship is to check in, motivate and nudge each other towards reaching your goals and sticking with them.

“The goal of this relationship is to check in, motivate and nudge each other towards reaching your goals and sticking with them.”

Alternatively, you can join groups (or start one) that specifically focuses on accountability in general or on specific goals. Some examples are online groups to stay motivated to work out, create or work on other personal goals. Accountability groups have been around for a long time and a lot of big organisations such as alcoholics anonymous or some weight loss companies take advantage of the group support (and pressure).

How to increase internal accountability

Build a cathedral

Do you remember how you feel when you believe in a project? It is very motivating to know that you are working towards an important goal. I suggest you reconnect with the “why” of your activities. Why do you want to do this? Why is it important to you? Once you know your “why” it is easier to stay accountable. A famous anecdote goes as follows: Someone asked two masons what they were doing. The first one answered that he was building a wall. The second one replied to the same question “I am building a cathedral.”. You don’t need to build a temple of worship for your goal to be important. Just find out how what you are doing is bigger than the task you want to complete. This will create internal accountability because you are connecting it with your personal values.

“The second one replied to the same question ‘I am building a cathedral.’.”

Don’t talk about it

Now I am going to contradict a previous tip. Don’t share your goals with others.
What? Why? Didn’t I just say the opposite?
Hear me out. Each of us is different in what works best to create accountability for us. Sometimes sharing a goal with others will make it less likely that we are continuing to strive towards it. The reason for that could be that others might criticize the plans or make us feel less motivated. It’s important to take into account what type of people you share your goals with. Some people feel that they themselves would not be able to achieve the goals you set for yourself. And rather than trying to shift their mindset they might actively try to stop you from trying, because a success of yours would make them feel as if they are less capable than you.

“Some people feel that they themselves would not be able to achieve the goals you set for yourself. “

Another reason not to share your goals with others has less to do with others and more with your own tendencies. Gretchen Rubin came up with the concept of the four tendencies which categorizes people into four groups. One of the groups is called “Rebels” (Click here to test what category you fall into;; Rubin, 2017). Rebels often tend to struggle with accountability because they often feel the urge to do the exact opposite of what others are suggesting. So for someone who is a Rebel, sharing goals with supporters can have the opposite effect and might make it less likely that they will do the thing they know they “should” do.

“Rebels often tend to struggle with accountability because they often feel the urge to do the exact opposite of what others are suggesting.”

Look back and compare

It is easy to learn from others, but it is more efficient to learn from your own mistakes and achievements. To apply this to your accountability plans I recommend that you set some time aside at the end of the week to review your goals and achievements. Ask yourself whether you have progressed as planned or whether you encountered some issues. The issues are going to be more insightful for you because they can offer you starting points from which to adjust your current goals and strategies. 

“It is easy to learn from others, but it is more efficient to learn from your own mistakes and achievements.”

For example, let’s say you progressed in your work-related goals to improve accountability and have also made good progress towards your financial goals. However, you noticed that despite your intention of working out three times this week you only managed to go once at its start. When you ask yourself why this goal has not been achieved this week you might come to three possible conclusions:

Firstly, you set the timing of your workout schedule wrong. You had previously decided to work out after your work and chores are done, but haven’t had the energy or motivation at the end of the day to act on this goal. 

Secondly, your goal might have been too ambitious. Perhaps working to increase general activity rather than going to the gym three times per week would be more realistic. Instead of your previous definition you could change it to “I will use the stairs whenever I have the choice and I will take a quick 15 minute walk around the block during my lunch break.”. 

Thirdly, you are tackling too much at a time. It is easy to get excited about making changes to our lives once we make the decision to do so. However it is recommended that one adds only one or two goals to the routine at a time. Don’t overload yourself with new goals, because it makes it more likely that you give up on all of them if you encounter hitches. Pick your most important goals and stick with them for a few weeks. Review them and make adjustments, until they are achieved or you have created habits of them. Then you can consider adding more goals.

To summarize, as always, not all tips are useful for everyone. Feel free to test them for yourself. I could have added more tips (e.g. about using lists to support accountability, but I have gone into that topic on this post already) , but this blog post is already quite long and I don’t want to bore you. 

So here you go, these are a variety of tips to improve accountability.
Which one of the tips was new to you? Which tip would you have added?
Let me know in the comments!

Further information

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin have changed the way I perceive personal differences and how I approach my counselling in regard to building habits and accountability.

Atomic Habits by James Clear is basically the bible of building habits. So if that is your goal, I recommend reading this book.

There are countless of influencers who focus on productivity, accountability strategies and self-improvement. Michelle’s and Thomas’s YouTube channels have been some of my favorite for several years now. I recommend checking them out.

References

Di Fabio, Annamaria, and Letizia Palazzeschi. “An in-Depth Look at Scholastic Success: Fluid Intelligence, Personality Traits or Emotional Intelligence?” Personality and individual differences 46.5 (2009): 581–585. Web.

Rubin G: The Four Tendencies. New York, Harmony Books, 2017.

Photo by Jeremy Lapak on Unsplash