On Accountability
On Accountability
To whom? To yourself? To your loved ones? To people who are in your field, your coach or mentor? Maybe to people, you don't even know? Does it work?
Does being accountable work? The answer that most coaches and people, in general, would say is an astounding, overwhelming, unanimous, and overpowering YES.
I am here to challenge that YES. That confident YES! I have questioned that YES time and time again. Now I am not saying that it doesn't work for most people. Damn, the immediate results that people get once they hire a coach are not only incredible and measurable; I would venture to bet that the number one reason for those successes is that they are accountable to someone other than themselves.
Though what if they don't care? What if they don't have skin in the game? What if they are complacent? What then? What do they do? What is the challenge for them? What makes them so different from all the others? Is something wrong with their wiring? Or have they just not been truthful to themselves. Do they want what they think they want? Or maybe some people need a little bit more. What more do they need? More frequency, more consequences? I have had people make checks out to organizations they despise for amounts that would choke a horse if they didn't deliver on their promises.
It usually works. However, there are those individuals that something else needs to be done. What is that something else? Are those people hopeless? Is there not a form of accountability that will help them perform?
Or maybe we are looking at it the wrong way. Perhaps we need to look at accountability through a different lens. I am not sure if I have the answer. I don't think there is ever one correct answer. I am pretty sure there isn't just one. Though if we start to look at what makes a person tick. What is driving that resistance to accountability; I think it will all come back to FEAR.
I read Rhonda Britten's book, Fearless Living, which is an excellent place to start. I was at Danny Iny's event in Montreal, and Rhonda was a guest speaker. She was rather entertaining and informative. I got a lot out of her presentation. When I got home, I ordered the book and started reading and doing the exercises. I have not completed it though I am moving right along. There is such great information in it. Take it from me. I operate from a place of fear every single day. I think that is what attracted me to her work. I believe that is why I do what I do. I want to help others be clear about the direction in which they are going. To know what the next right action to take is so that they don't have to operate out of FEAR. The more I delve into my course's subject matter, the more I learn how FEAR is such a motivator in our lives—both in good and bad ways. However, if we do the work and take the time to look at ourselves to see what makes us tick and what is motivating us, we can Get the Right Shit done!
