EP276 From Intention to Action: How Accountability Drives Success
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Audio Only - All Participants: [00:00:00] Hello, Bold Goal Crushers. Welcome to the show. I'm your host, Sara Mayer, and I'm going to guide you on your journey to crush your goals and live boldly. And today we're really diving into a topic that is critical for anyone looking to achieve their dreams and make a significant amount of progress on their goals.
Audio Only - All Participants: And that's accountability, whether it's holding yourself accountable or ensuring that your team stays on track, accountability truly is the key to moving forward with purpose and determination. So let's get right to it. What is accountability? When we talk about accountability, what do we really mean? At its core, accountability is about taking ownership over your actions, decisions, and their outcomes.
Audio Only - All Participants: It's about stepping up and saying, this is my responsibility. But there are two sides to this coin, self accountability [00:01:00] and holding others accountable. Both are equally important and require different strategies. Let's start with self accountability. This is where it all begins. When we set a goal or an idea or a plan, whether it's for personal reasons or professional reasons, we often have great intentions, but.
Audio Only - All Participants: Intentions alone won't get us to the finish line. Accountability acts like this bridge between intention and action. So how can you be more accountable to yourself? First set very clear objectives. Your objectives are how you're going to reach the goal and your goals don't need to be really specific.
Audio Only - All Participants: They can be dreamy and lofty and exciting. And maybe not all figured out because goals change over time, but how you're going to achieve that goal, the objectives, those need to be specific. They need to really outline [00:02:00] when you're going to do it and what you're going to do. The easier it is to hold yourself accountable depends on whether or not you have these clear objectives.
Audio Only - All Participants: And instead of saying, I want to get fit as a goal, try saying, I will work out for 30 minutes, five times a week. Your main goal could be, I want to get fit, but your objectives, how you're going to do it could be, I'm going to do this for 30 minutes, five times a week. So track your progress. You can keep a journal.
Audio Only - All Participants: I do have a really great, I think this is the one. Yes. I have a really great journal driven to succeed a goal and to, and sorry, a goal oriented journal for high achievers. I'm tongue twisted today. And then if you have a challenge with habits, I do have some habit trackers. I love these trackers. So definitely.
Audio Only - All Participants: Keep track of all of that. You want to keep that routine. Consistency is key. So [00:03:00] set specific times on your calendar for activities that will lead to your goal and make it non negotiable. And then find your why you want to remind yourself regularly, why you set this goal in the first place, why you're on this journey, your motivation will be the fuel that keeps you going when things get tough and then reflect regularly.
Audio Only - All Participants: I also have a lot of great journals like this one where you can reflect about your progress and that reflection. is what you need to do to adjust your actions as needed. Now let's talk a little bit about holding others accountable. Many of our big, bold goals, we cannot accomplish ourselves. Many times we have to build teams or work within teams in our businesses or In businesses we work at.
Audio Only - All Participants: So let's talk about holding others accountable. So whether it's your team at work, a project group or [00:04:00] maybe even your team and your family, this can be challenging, but it's essential for collective success. So here are a couple of strategies. The first thing is I want to make a statement. There is a difference between micromanaging and holding people accountable.
Audio Only - All Participants: Micromanaging is Following up on every little task, outlining every little task, just really being on somebody and not allowing them the liberty and freedom to take initiative and do it themselves. Holding somebody accountable is really making sure that they get done. What they said they were gonna do.
Audio Only - All Participants: But it starts with setting clear expectations when working with others, be sure everyone is on the same page from the start. So you wanna define the role, you wanna define the responsibility and what success looks like. How will you know when this is successful? And often micromanagers are really involved in the road to get there when.
Audio Only - All Participants: People holding others [00:05:00] accountable are not, but they may do regular check ins on the road to get there if they see that the bus is not on track. So regular check ins are important. So don't wait until a deadline is looming to check up on progress and setting regular check ins to see where everyone stands and offering support and adjust as needed.
Audio Only - All Participants: And then it's really about encouraging ownership. Encourage people to take ownership of their parts of the project. When people feel responsible for their tasks, they're more likely to follow through. So make sure they know no, people are counting on you. And then provide constructive feedback. So be honest, but also be kind when providing feedback.
Audio Only - All Participants: Focus on the actions, not the person and offer solutions rather than just pointing out the problem. Many times I like to open with, how do you think it's going, or what's the thing that you're struggling with the most, or how can I help you? And many [00:06:00] people know when they're not doing well, or they need help, but they have a hard time making that initial outreach.
Audio Only - All Participants: So making that open and clear for them. And then it's about celebrating wins and really learning from those failures. So celebrate when goals are achieved and reflect on what didn't work when they aren't. And this really creates a culture of learning and growth. So let's talk about some tools and techniques for better accountability.
Audio Only - All Participants: There are some great tools out there and techniques to help yourself Be accountable and also help others be accountable. So for personable personal accountability, consider using some apps. I like to use Asana. If you go to sarahmayer. com and then click on favorite things, you can check out Asana. I cannot keep track of everything in my head, so I like to put it all in Asana, so I know that I am not forgetting anything.
Audio Only - All Participants: And you can even use a daily planner with a tech tool. So I also use the clever Fox, [00:07:00] which I love this planner, because then I pull out three or four things from Asana that I want to work on each day. Now, this one does have the daily, like box. I don't use that box in full disclosure for that.
Audio Only - All Participants: I write a little daily reflection, a one sentence thing about how my day was and what I accomplished. For teams, you can use Asana as well. If you just need a communication tool, maybe Slack or Google Workspace would be a great addition for all your files. So one technique that I know many people love is the concept of the opponent accountability partner.
Audio Only - All Participants: And if you could find someone who is also working towards achieving a goal. And maybe on the same timeline and agree to check in with each other regularly. It's truly amazing just to know someone else's watching and helping you stay on track. It's like that concept. If you have somebody meeting you at the gym, you're more likely to go.[00:08:00]
Audio Only - All Participants: And then there's a real impact of accountability on goal achievement. So here's the thing. When you're accountable, you don't just achieve more, you also build stronger relationships, trust, and credibility. You show others and yourself that you're serious about your commitments and that over time that will compound into bigger achievements and a more fulfilled life.
Audio Only - All Participants: So as we wrap up today. I want to leave you with this message. Accountability is not about perfection. It's about progress. It's about consistently showing up. It's about being honest with yourself and others and taking responsibility for the journey. So start small, be consistent and see how accountability can transform your life.
Audio Only - All Participants: And goals. So thank you for tuning into the bold goal crusher podcast. If you found this episode helpful, hit that subscribe button [00:09:00] and share this with someone else. I hope you're watching on YouTube. You get to see my wonderful room and my plants and all my fun stuff. If you're just listening on the podcast, consider jumping on YouTube and sharing this episode with someone else.
Audio Only - All Participants: It's time to crush your goals and everything that gets in the way because you don't have to work double time. So let's get to it.
