What does Accountability mean?

The dictionary definition of accountability is ‘taking responsibility for our own actions’.

It can be a challenge to stick to goals, whether small or large, if you are left unaccountable: we’ve all experienced this. Goals, short and long-term, can amount to big changes and reaching them correlates with feeling like your business is progressing. Ultimately, the satisfaction of achieving will directly impact your motivation to achieve more!

How do you ensure accountability in your business whether you are an entrepreneur or working as part of a team? Here’s what I’ve learned over the years…

Goals, Planning and Project Management

Have a long-term business plan which you visit regularly. Set yourself milestones and create smaller chunks of work for big tasks, alongside timelines. Each of these will help to hold you accountable.

In addition, work with someone on business plans and large projects. This provides more structure and, as such, more accountability. Verbalising and documenting with another person is important in this process.

It can also help massively to go back to why you are doing what you are doing: If it doesn’t align with your purpose, then delivering your goals may be harder.

Communication

This is crucial to any business. Your clients, network, your team, peers, coaches and mentors. All of them need to be effectively communicated with.

Talk talk talk and check-in that people understand what you say.  Getting them to repeat back their understanding will help cement what needs to be done and ensure that it is a priority.

Agility

Accountability can often sound like a lot of structure. However, it is important to recognise that not everything always goes to plan. 

Being agile and pivoting when necessary is crucial to business development. Ensure you create check-in points with yourself to review progress. For example, you could diarise them. Ask for feedback from others, checking in on what your goal was and whether others perceive that you are on track.

Also consider whether the market or customer behaviour has changed? We are going through one of the most rapid changes in consumer behaviour and trends, movements are being fast-tracked. This is the case for everything from digital, to conscious consumerism as people re-address their values and what is important to them.

How does this affect your work? Don’t be scared to change direction, we love a pivot!

Time Management

When do you do your best work? Start to learn when you are in the flow. Which days of the week and times of the day? Save admin tasks for when your energy is low or you're having an “off day”.

Also delegate wherever possible. Outsource whatever is the biggest time and energy drain for you, or simply the tasks you enjoy least.

Working with others creates the need for more planning. So, you need to ensure you give adequate time to others to do their part to hit deadlines.

Always protect your time, keep your power hours to business development and strategy work and be cautious of sharing them.

People 

Who you surround yourself with, I feel, is one of the most important parts of accountability.

Who are the inspiring people in your life from your friends, family, mentors, colleagues, your network? Identify who drains your time and energy and consider the impact that has on your output.

It can be helpful to have accountability buddies - someone to regularly connect with, share your goals and check-in at the same time regularly.

There is a wealth of coaches facilitating this you can find online and through social media. Meetup also provides a great platform for a more accessible way to connect with a new community.

Find some like-minded people, to allow you to create your own tribe. Simply put yourself out there and curate your own network: one-to-one or as a group.

How I keep myself accountable

I love working with people and have led big teams in my corporate life. It is important to surround myself with the right people to inspire me, keep me accountable and give me a kick up the bum when I need it!

Having a business plan and clear vision, developed with someone focused on numbers, profit and operations, has helped enormously. It means I know what to prioritise to reach my goals.

I also use weekly and daily to-do lists, using a classic urgent/not urgent, important/not important matrix to help me prioritise.

Here’s the one that the team at WIZZ&CO use, with an explanation of how to use it. Save it to help you get to the bottom of what you really need to get done each day. Plus, post the version below on your Instagram stories and add one thing to each box so that your followers can keep you accountable. Don’t forget to tag us - @wizz.and.co

Surrounding myself with amazing people has changed my output dramatically. Outsourcing and working with experts requires planning and keeping each other accountable to reach our goals. Four people virtually work with WIZZ&CO. On larger projects I bring in experts from my network and use specialists for areas such as digital marketing, PR and branding. Working with these incredible people allows me to focus on my strengths: strategic thinking and leading a vision - my clients and mine.

This year I invested in a group coaching programme that created a new accountability network, different perspectives and some JFDI (Just F’ing DO it) moments. I have just started a group mastermind which is more intimate. I’m excited to report back in a few months!

On a deeper level I put a lot of pressure on myself due to my ambitious nature. 

By focusing on being more present, I have started to recognise when this pressure is rising and remind myself to take a break. I have found journaling a huge help. One of my daily routines is to now write down my business and self-care achievements at the end of the day. 

I would love to hear your accountability plan.

Add me on WhatsApp and let’s be accountability buddies for a week, or head over to IG stories and fill in the above accountability grid: Sharing your goals makes them feel more real.

If you are interested in learning more about my 1-2-1 business coaching services please get in touch by sending me an email to wizz@wizzandco.com. Not only do I advise on your brand strategy but offer regular sessions providing accountability for your to-do list. Plus, I will help you prioritise so that they align with your overall business strategy and long-term goals.