Accountability Partners: How To Find a Good One

Today, we're talking all about accountability partners; why you should have one, why they are so important in getting things done, and most importantly, how to find a good one.

Whether your goal is to lose weight and get fit, to excel in your business, or you're an entrepreneur that is just struggling to stay consistent, having a solid accountability partner can be a game-changer.

What we will cover:

• Why accountability is so important
• What to do before you start looking
• Where to look 
• What to look for
• How to approach a prospective partner
• What to do once you've found them
• How to shortcut the whole process

Let's dive in!

Why Accountability Is So Important

People are natural procrastinators and studies have shown that 20 percent of people worldwide are chronic procrastinators.

Having a solid accountability partner is going to hold you true to your word so that you can actually get things done because we, as people, are far more likely to actually do something and follow through when we told someone else HOW and WHEN we are going to accomplish that task, rather than telling ourselves.

Yes! We will actually lie to ourselves!

Think in your life, how many times have you said, "I'm going to start working out", or "I'm going to finish this project by this time", then something else shows up or you get distracted by a shiny object, etc. 

Whatever it is, you get distracted and say, "Oh well, it's not a big deal."But if you told someone else that you were going to do something by a specific time and then you didn't do it, they would ask you why didn't you do it. And you'd feel guilty inside.

Now, with an accountability partner, you have someone that you can share your struggles with and that can give you honest feedback on where you're at in terms of you reaching your goal.

Having that accountability really helps you focus on what's really most important so you can eliminate bad procrastination habits and it helps you eliminate the time and effort that you put into distracting things or unproductive behavior.

When you're held accountable for your actions you're way more likely to actually follow through with those actions and a big part of having an accountability partner is that it's not just a "take" relationship.

You have to give to the relationship as well.

You have to actually be an accountability partner for the other person(s) as well. It's a fair exchange with the two of you and by you being an accountability partner for those other people, you are effectively helping them understand the real value of their work and their time.

What To Do Before You Start Looking

Now, before we even start looking for an accountability partner, the very first thing to do is to decide and define in yourself what you want accountability for.

What is the thing that you want to accomplish? Is that you want to lose weight, or gain muscle? Maybe you want to be more consistent in an entrepreneurial endeavor? Is it related to your business?

Get really specific and clear on why you want this accountability partner. What's the reason?

After you've defined what it is that you want an accountability partner for. Now, we want to talk about where can we actually find these people.

Where To Look For An Accountability Partner

There are great accountability Partners everywhere and in today's modern age we have a plethora of different options. We can look online even on a global scale, we can look offline and in-person in different groups and communities, or even in our neighborhood.

Here are a couple of ideas on where to look:

Facebook Groups

There is a Facebook group for literally everything. Whether it's business-related, about knitting, losing weight, getting fit, etc. Whatever it is, just type in the search bar of the "groups" section, join it and start connecting with people.

Online Blogs, Forums, and Websites 

There are communities and people all over the internet! It's going to take some digging on your end but, with persistence, you will find a ton of people to connect with. Then you can exchange emails, have a phone call, or meet on Zoom.

Try MeetUp.com

I have no affiliation with MeetUp, it's just a great place just to go on if you're looking to connect with people. It's free and you can connect with some awesome people.

There are groups and communities that do stand-up comedy, improv, running groups, book clubs, entrepreneur groups, networking events, and more.

Pretty much anything that you can think of, MeetUp.com has a group or a community that's doing that thing.

Click here to check out MeetUp.com

Connect With People In Your Network

Do you have a friend in your life that is super active and consistent with their exercise? Maybe you know someone that is highly motivated with their entrepreneurial endeavors or business goals and you haven't connected in a while.

I can guarantee you there are tons of people in your network that would be a perfect fit to be your accountability partner. There are literally groups, communities, and people all around you that would love to be your accountability partner at your fingertips.

It's up to you to actually go out and engage with those people.

What To Look For In a Good Accountability Partner

Here are a couple of things that I recommend to look for when looking for a quality accountability partner:

Pick Someone That You Admire

I recommend finding someone that you can look up to. Again, if it's that person who works out in the gym all the time and your goal is to get fit that's someone who is walking the walk.

Maybe it's someone who is doing very well in business. You admire that person because they're showing that they either really care about the thing that you care about, or they're already excelling in it to an extent.

Pick Someone Whose Judgment You Value

For me, I look for someone who has good judgment. I want to value what they have to say and that they show me they mean it through their actions. 

Find Someone That Can Be Candid With You

This is probably the most important one.

Why would you get an accountability partner that isn't going to be a hundred percent upfront and real with you? I don't want someone to just tell me things to make me feel good when I'm off track. Saying something like, "Oh yeah, you're doing a good job!" even if you're completely off track and derailing.

It's one thing to give some good feedback and celebrate wins with them, but the best feedback is honest feedback. Make sure that you have someone that can be candid and real with you when it matters. That's what's going to cause you to look at yourself in the mirror and be real with yourself.

Pick Someone You Know To Be Generous

Generous with their ideas, their time, money, etc.

Most people are busy and have a lot of things going on in their lives, so the fact that this person is taking time out to be there with you is huge.

I also like to look at someone who's just a generous person in general. You know, someone who spots a bill for someone, or that loves giving gifts. Generous people are typically great people; at least, that's what I've found to be true. 

Find someone that you know to be generous. By them being generous with their ideas, they're obviously going to share those ideas with you as well.

Lastly, Bring Those Same Qualities To Them

This is probably the biggest one, bring those same qualities to them.

Remember what we talked about earlier? Having an accountability partner isn't a one-way street. It's not just a take relationship. You have to give to this person as well. You have to adopt these traits as well and hold the other person accountable for their dreams and ambitions.

Be someone that they can admire, whose judgment they can value, who can be candid and generous with them.

When you find a great accountability partner, it's really a relationship. And what you put into any kind of relationship really is what you're going to get out of that relationship. Give the traits and the qualities that you would love to receive and you will be able to find an amazing accountability partner.

As you're looking for an accountability partner, naturally people come up to you and want you to be your accountability partner. Sometimes you just know that it's not a good fit and you have to learn how to gracefully say NO to people. To master the art of saying NO while not hurting their feelings or being rude, but by being real with them.

If you want to learn how to say NO to people with grace and ease then I recommend you check out my last blog post where I share 5 Effective Ways To Say No To People.

There are a ton of different ways you could say no to people with grace and ease, but that's a great resource to get you going.

How To Approach Your Prospective Partner

Now, when you find someone that you actually do like, what do you actually say to them? And how do you do it without being awkward?

Remember we talked about things to look for in someone?

• Someone that you admire
• Someone whose judgment you value
• Someone who can be candid with you
• Someone you know to be generous

Then of course you bring those same qualities to them.

Something that I would recommend to do is to actually share with this prospective partner that you notice these qualities in that person. 

Maybe you've connected with them, you've talked with them for a while, you've built a little bit of a relationship, or you're just kind of getting to know them. Either way, people love to be admired. 

If you told someone, "Hey man, I really admire you, I value your judgment, I think that you're someone who can really be candid and straight-up with people, and I admire the fact that you're a very generous person. I'm looking for more people to connect like that and I'd love to bring those same qualities to you."

People love to be admired and you're literally coming up to this person, explain to them specific things about them that you admire and that you would love to be their accountability partner to help them!

Everybody can use more accountability. I can guarantee that by you sharing those things to this person and explaining what you can bring to the table. They're going to like what they hear because they're understanding that you're there for them.

Whoever it is, bring those things to the table.

It may take a couple of people. Some people are just way too busy and it's not a huge priority for them, or they've already got an accountability partner or Mastermind of some kind, but just keep trying it out. You will find someone I can guarantee you that.

What To Do Once You've Found Someone

"Okay, I got someone! Now what?"

Once you've connected with someone and they've said "YES, I would love to be your accountability partner!", They're a great fit, you just know it, you're ready to rock and roll.

Now, you want to discuss logistics with this person.

Decide the time, the day, and for how long you are going to meet each time that you do meet. Depending on the purpose you are meeting with this person for, which is the first thing that we talked about, it's going to require a different level of accountability. It's really something for you both to decide on.

For example, if your goal is to get in great shape or to lose weight and you guys are both at about the same place, then it may take a while to actually get to your desired goal. Maybe you want to be working out five days a week or four days a week. Decide how many times you guys will meet up and agree upon that.

Now, if it's more of a business kind of setting where you want to excel in your business, bounce ideas off of each other, or maintain consistency, it totally depends on you, but I would say to meet with this person at least once a week.

You can even have a curriculum that each of you can follow so every time that you meet if you meet once a week, you know what we're talking about or focusing on each day.

Whatever it is create a game plan that's going to work for both of you that you can follow and abide by consistently for a long time. 

How To Shortcut The Whole Process

This last point is really a pro tip. It's to hire a professional.

When you hire a professional, you cut a lot of corners in trying to find a good accountability partner. You may need to hire a couple of different ones, but when you hire someone to be there for you and hold you accountable, it's a way different experience than just meeting someone and having a "handshake agreement" that you're going to be there for each other.

Here's why:

People are busy. They have kids and families, other priorities, life throws them curveballs, they lose motivation, change directions, etc.

When you hire a professional, that person is there for you because you're literally paying them to be there for you. It's an accountability piece for them. They WANT to be there for you because you're paying them for a specific result and you become more of a priority to that person.

Whether your goal is to lose weight, to gain muscle, to get super fit and be healthy, to maintain consistent energy levels, to be more productive, to grow and excel in your business, whatever it is; hiring a professional coach or mentor of some kind that you pay to meet every week or every day, is a completely different dynamic.

Another thing is that when you hire a professional, they're going to show up for you no matter what. They're going to hold you accountable to a different standard. But also, when you hire a professional, they bring to the table specific knowledge that they specialize in to help you accomplish whatever that task is.

As a coach myself, one of the biggest pieces to a coaching relationship is actually the accountability. It's the fact that we meet every single week (sometimes daily) that people are able to keep showing up for what matters most to them.

You can find a coach for anything. There are coaches for fitness, for business, for productivity, for your performance, for finances, and more. Whatever it is that you want.

Now, personally, I have used accountability partners so many times in the past, I've been in masterminds, groups, communities, and more. I've had a one-on-one accountability partner and I can tell you from experience that nothing compares to having a paid professional that specializes in the specific thing that you want to accomplish.

If you would love to maximize your performance, your productivity, and get your energy levels to an optimal state and you would love to create a system that allows you to maintain that state for the long haul, then I would love to invite you to book a 1-1 complimentary session with me (only 15 minutes).

We're going to get to know each other see where you're at, what it is you want to accomplish, and if it feels like a good fit on both of our ends, we can decide if we want to book a longer session. The purpose of this call is to get to know each other and see how I can best serve you.

Click here to book your 1-1 session.

Conclusion

Having an accountability partner is amazing. Especially when you have a really good one because it makes accomplishing your goals so much easier and really, way more fun. 

By going through this lesson, you now know why it's so important to have an accountability partner, where to look what to look for, how to approach them, what to do after you've met, and what to do to shortcut the whole entire process by hiring a specific professional.

And always remember...

If you want to attract an amazing accountability partner, you need to bring those same qualities to the table.

I hope you've gotten value from this lesson and if so, be sure to click here to download the Performance & Productivity Planner so you can get more of the right things done, eliminate distractions, and maximize your day.

Take what you learned here. Get out there. Find an accountability partner and go get things done.

I'll see you in the next one.