The Role of Accountability in Personal Growth: Commitment to change

Introduction: What this blog covers: psychology behind accountability and its motivators, different types of accountabilities (self-accountability, peer accountability, professional coaching). Tools and strategies to track progress (journals, apps, accountability partners). How accountability fosters lasting behavior change. 

Hook: It’s time to stop sleeping on yourself and stop making excuses that keep you from your highest potential. 

The psychology behind accountability and motivation

Holding yourself accountable is the most effective strategy for accountability. Think back to recent times when you had to own up for your actions, did you feel a sense of responsibility, or did you feel like you have been defeated? Our thought processes, emotions, and behaviors when taking responsibility and staying motivated are what allow us to take control of our lives and make positive changes. To increase and follow-through with our commitments, accountability empowers us to set and achieve goals. Over time this will help build trust and credibility and improve our self-esteem. 

External vs. Internal Accountability

External and internal accountabilities have many effects on change. Internal accountability is being accountable to oneself. It’s your personal commitment to be honest with yourself and follow-through with your goals. Internal accountability is what’s inside you and sparks a reputation that people in your life will trust and respect. 

External accountability is what’s on the outside and how it affects the inside. It’s about being accountable to others and it creates a safe environment that people admire and kind of sets a set of standards to follow. 

How Accountability Fosters Habit Formation

The connection between our daily routines and taking responsibility we hold towards them is how we plug in our psychological and behavioral abilities. When connected, these two represent personal accountability, which acts as the foundation of habit formation. It may sound like just doing things over and over by establishing a pattern of actions, but it’s so much more. This habit formation is a conscious choice of our commitment to our goals. 

Types of accountabilities and their effectiveness

Three types of accountabilities and their effectiveness are: 

Self-Accountability: Also known as personal accountability is the ability to take responsibility for your own actions. It involves understanding that the decisions you make can have positive or negative effects on your work and personal life (Indeed, 2024). Self-accountability is effective when you think about anything and everyone before planning. 

Peer Accountability: Peer accountability is a great way to keep track of your goals and achieving them. This woks when your team or individual defines your goals and sets clear expectations, and providing concrete measurements for your performance. Part of peer accountability and its effectiveness means taking the time to practice it. If someone cannot understand the meaning behind a message or email, they shouldn’t rely on guessing to understand it. Adjustments in communication until both parties understand one another is the key to effective peer accountability. 

Professional Accountability: Professional accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for your actions, decisions, and performance in a professional setting. It’s about owning the part you play in your professional journey, including successes and the areas where you may fall short (Forbes, 2024). The ways professional accountability can be effective are constantly demonstrating trust to be reliable amongst your colleagues and supervisors and approaching problems proactively and learning from experience. 

Practical strategies to build accountability into daily life

Using apps, planners, or habit trackers are great tools to incorporate accountability into daily life. Here are the top 5 apps to get things done:

1. Focusmate- This app pairs you with a virtual accountability partner for a 50-minute work session. 

2. CoFocus- CoFocus offers a platform for virtual co-working. You can join a session, share your work goals, and work alongside others in a virtual environment. 

3. Lifeat- This app provides a virtual space where you can join others working on their tasks. Work alongside others in a virtual room and boost your focus and productivity. 

4. Flown- Flown is focused on deep work sessions. You join a virtual room with others committed to focused work. This app may offer guided focus sessions, where distractions are minimized, and deep concentration is encouraged. 

5. Think Divergent- This app is more about collaborative brainstorming and creative thinking. Its primary focus is on facilitating creative discussions and idea generation in a virtual setting. 

   
   

Another great way to incorporate accountability into daily life is creating an accountability plan with milestone and rewards. There are so many ideas for accountability plans and they are all so much fun to track. What I find best in my life to achieve goals is consistency and discipline. For example, I started an accountability plan the month my daughter was born (August 2024) to stay on task with college apprenticeships, and personal life duties. Here is the clear plan that I will continue to use year after year: (you can organize the months to when you start yours)

1. Month 1: Lay the Foundation – Use your first month to plan, research, and gather resources. Establish routines that align with your goals to begin your journey to consistency. 

2. Month 2: Take Action – With your foundation set, month 2 is all about disciplined action. Stick to your routines and start executing the first phase of your goal. 

3. Month 3: Refine & Adjust – Month 3 is for reflecting and weeding the garden. Stay disciplined and adjust your strategies to keep aligned with your goals. 

4. Month 4: Push Through – In this month, maintain your discipline and push through any challenges. Consistence will carry you closer to the finish line. 

5. Month 5: Celebrate & Reflect – Month 5 is for celebrating your wins and reflecting on your journey. Use discipline to finish strong and set the stage for future goals. 

This has helped my goals come to life and can help you too! 

So now what do we do when our motivation fades? Finding ways to overcome challenges and staying accountable is a critical thing to stay on track. Don’t dig deeper into this motivational setback by being negative, instead practice positive affirmation and reflect on past milestones to remind yourself of how strong you are. Always seek support, whether from an accountability peer or anyone you trust with similar goals, to help keep you on track. Most importantly, just relax and be flexible. Don’t be afraid of setbacks when motivation fades, instead take this time for some classic R&R then circle back and adjust your approach. 

This is a space for comments and questions, just drop a line in the section reserved below. I hope you enjoyed this blog and found some helpful tools and resources on your accountability journey.