Over the years, I’ve witnessed dozens of people set themselves up for failure by following seemingly wise advice –
“When you set a goal, make it public and tell everybody you know so they can support you.”
In my experience, that could have worked better – especially on long-term goals. The reason is that nobody outside my close relationships knows me well enough to understand why I’m doing what I’m doing. That makes it challenging to provide support in meaningful ways, difficult for me to accept, and unneeded pressure on everybody.
It takes little thinking to realize the best accountability relationship needs to be based on respect and a sincere connection to have the most impact. That means there is no need to crowd-source accountability when you only need two people to keep you on track.
The first partner is the one you listen to the most – YOU! Accepting responsibility for your accountability is the most potent skill you own.
But since you are the boss of YOU and don’t always listen to yourself, you need somebody else you trust and respect who is willing to call you out on your stuff. Once they agree, let them do their job.
Getting what you want begins and ends with you, but having an accountability partner is a great way to keep you on track in the messy middle.