Peer Accountability

What strategies do you use to hold yourself accountable? If you’re like me - other people are the most effective accountability tool out there. If you work in a company- your boss and colleagues are built-in accountability.

But what if you are your own boss? What if there is no one else who really knows how much you’ve done, or not done? 

Personally - one of the best parts of being my own boss is that I’m only accountable to my clients. No one is looking over my shoulder if I close my computer early and go for an afternoon surf.

And yet, it’s such a double edged sword - because accountability drives action. And as an entrepreneur, action and forward momentum are so closely tied to success.

I see this dynamic play out with many of my founder clients. Even if you have co-founders or investors, realistically, each of you are operating in your own lanes. Does your co-founder really know if you are slipping? Productive accountability relationships take intentionality - and when they work that accountability can be game changing.

Because being accountable only to yourself is hard. It’s much easier to scroll. Or to be busy with something else. Or to convince yourself it wouldn’t really matter anyway if you did that thing. That thing you really should get to this week. That thing that gives you that feeling in the pit of your stomach.

But accountability to push through and do those hard things is where growth happens. It’s where excellence happens. It’s where businesses succeed or fail.

Because I don’t have accountability “built-in” I’ve had to figure out how to enroll others to help keep me accountable.

First, I have my own coach. I believe a good coach can be a transformative source of accountability.

Beyond that though, I have been experimenting with other mechanisms of peer accountability: A personal board of directors, a weekly check in with another coach to review progress, and a writing buddy. 

Here are a few starting points if you want to get some peer accountability going in the new year: 

If the peer you are thinking of is your co-founder - it’s crucial to understand existing patterns, and if needed, communicate openly if you’d like something to change. There is no “right” answer here - except what works for each of you. What do you need from the other in terms of accountability?  What level of detail are you going into? What cadence makes sense? What’s at stake either explicitly or implicitly when accountability is broken?

For solopreneurs, some similar questions apply.  Who do you want to build more of a relationship with? What do you need in terms of accountability style? What is the “trade” you are making (my time and attention for your time and attention goes a long way).  What are your goals from the relationship? What is at stake if accountability is broken? How long will this relationship last? What does “success” look like?

What am I missing? Would love to hear about your peer accountability mechanisms.