The Role of an Accountability Partner in Goal Achievement

The concept of being held accountable in order to reach your goals is not a new concept in goal achievement but those that are truly successful engage the help of an accountability partner. An accountability partners takes on the role as trusted confident or a mentor whom you trust and who can provide you with the guidance and motivation to forge ahead.

The act of accountability serves to assist you along your journey. It requires you to accept responsibility for your actions and to stay true to your commitments. Unaccountable people make excuses, put things off and never reach their goals. They create a negative energy for the only purpose of deflecting the root cause of the problem... themselves.

To help keep you committed and totally responsible for your actions and behaviors in reaching your goals, it is suggested that you to seek out an accountability partner whose only focus is keeping you on your path and providing you the wisdom and support you require along this journey.

It could be a family member, a friend or co-working or another member of this challenge. Find people that resonate with you whom you can trust and learn from. Be open about your goal and the results you are looking to achieve and be clear in your communication. Ask these people to be your cheerleaders along the way and to hold you to your commitments when you waiver.

The idea is to hold regular meetings with your accountability partner who will challenge, motivate, mentor, encourage and inspire you to achieve maximum results. Knowing that you are expected to report your progress each week and to discuss your limited belief and obstacles can motivate anyone. There are a number of benefits of working with an accountability partner, but here are the top three:

-Accountability and Responsibility

Most goals are not achieved because we are not held accountable to anyone to achieve them. It is our life and we want to procrastinate or put task on the backburner because of other issues we deal with, which is our prerogative, right? The second biggest benefit of an accountability partner is that they hold you accountable to reach your goals and monitor your actions to ensure you are on the right path. They act as sounding boards, gatekeepers and test groups all the while asking you where you stand with your plan.

-Idea Sharing, Creativity and Brainstorming

Information is one of the most powerful assets a person can posses and having the ability to leverage other people's information is exponentially better. Your accountability partner will come with different experiences, perspectives and ideas that will help you overcome your obstacles and challenges. Having the ability to brainstorm and be creative with another person focused on helping you solve a problem is one of the biggest benefits you will experience from an accountability partner.

-Motivational Support

Staying positive and motivated is a big challenge for some especially after the excitement of starting to work on a goal has worn off and the task becomes work. Goals take time, hard work and determination and results often do not come as quickly as one would hope. This can be very frustrating and cause many to become unmotivated. By surrounding yourself with a supportive accountability partner, you will receive positive encouragement no matter how you perform and the active discussions you will participate in will most likely inspire and stimulate you to move forward.

During your search for an accountability partner, keep in mind that the right person should be someone who will challenge, engage and evoke a sense of accomplishment in you. This person should be somebody you admire and who has accomplished what you are trying to accomplish.

©Kellie D'Andrea & Associates