Professional & Personal Accountability

A Good Partner is like a Good Coach

We've all experienced periods of self doubt, scrutiny, intense comparison of ourselves to others, and other such negativity of our actions both personally and professionally. If these thoughts are left unattended they can be damaging to our future. Mentors are often our go-to people when these thoughts start creeping in, but they provide advice and guidance for the bigger picture. Who keeps us accountable once we've received that advice and guidance? Who checks in on us to make sure we're achieving the goals we've set? On a day to day or week to week basis, who's kicking your ass when you need it most?

This is where an accountability partner comes into play in addition to your mentors. They play good cop/bad cop. They keep you on track and don't let things get out of hand. They bring back ideas you said you wanted to work on and make you feel the pressure you need to stay the course.

In early 2014 I was miserable. I was working on a communications team for a successful start up about to IPO which was an experience that very few people can say they have lived through. Stress runs high, personalities change, and there's an insurmountable amount of work that needs to be done. It was all getting to me and I wasn't happy personally or professionally.  After leaving at the end of January and starting at a new company a few weeks later things became clearer, and questions started to form:

• What do I want out of my career for the next year, three years, five years, and beyond?  
• How am I going to get there?
• Am I taking the right steps now?
• What could I be doing better?
• Where are my weaknesses, and how can I improve?
• What are my strengths and how can I use them to make others better?

A close friend was also having these same thoughts and we found ourselves speaking a few times a week through the themes of professional development, health, and life. After a few weeks he brought up the idea of formalizing this arrangement to keep us both accountable.  It was like a light bulb and everything fell into place.

We formalized a lot of things to get us started, and at times it was hard to keep on track, and some sessions were missed. Moods were up and down, interests and passions were all over the place. Focus is sometimes not there. At the end of 2014 we had a two hour sit down dinner to go over what went well all year and what didn't.

We're still continuing down this path, and it's an incredible exercise each week that has benefited us both positively in the areas of life, work, and health.