There’s nothing better than talking about accountability.
The 5AM Call started years ago as nothing more than pure accountability, with myself, Tom Toole, Scott Kompa, and a couple of others saying, “We’ve gotta straighten out our morning routine.”
A morning routine is a great way to start with accountability. We know it impacts the rest of our day. We know what type of productivity we get out of the day when we start our day with purpose, when we get the gym out of the way, when we clear the deck.
But that’s just one layer of accountability. I want to talk about some tactics—or layers of accountability—you can implement in your life to really take it to the next level.
If you’re claiming that you want to do something great this year, that you want to beat the odds, that you want to grow and excel and continue to get better, but you’re not bringing others in on it—it’s going to be very difficult to get there.
So, here are some things you can layer up. Because the more layers of accountability you can add to your routine, the better.
Accountability partners
Number one, team up with an accountability partner or two, and have regular, scheduled calls with them. I have one where it’s just me and two others, and we make the call three times a week.
This is old-school 5AM Call stuff—same time, same days, every single week. We don’t socialize or “catch up” during these calls. Instead, we recite our progress (or lack of) on specific measurements and what we’re doing to grow.
So, who are you partnering with? Make sure it is someone who is reliable and will call you out if needed. Then, put it on your calendar for the same day, same time every week.
Accountability groups
If you’re part of a team or you’re running an organization, are you running accountability groups within those environments to share the love (of accountability)?
Creating groups raises accountability awareness levels for everyone and encourages everyone to set clear commitments for themselves.
When more people know what your commitments are, the likelihood of you following through goes way up. The people in your group know your deadline and your goal, and you know that they know.
When other people know what you’re going after, you end up getting more done.
Vision board
Your vision board is another way to add accountability to your life—especially when it’s tied to your business plan.
Who has a copy of your vision board? Who in your home can see it? Have everyone in your family sign it to hold you accountable to it.
If your family doesn’t know what the vision is for the family, that’s a problem. That needs to change tonight.
Sit down at the dinner table and just lay it out. “Here’s where we’re going in the next 12 months. Who wants to add what? Let’s all hold me accountable for the things I’m going to do to make these things happen.”
Weekly L10 meetings
The fourth thing on my list is the meeting structure that you have weekly. Is it the same time every single week, and is it the same structure?
Do you actually have a structure for your meetings? Who’s running the meetings?
In our meetings, we use the L10 structure described in a book I’ve mentioned before—Traction, by Gino Wickman. We do all our meetings using the L10 structure from the EOS system.
Within the meeting, there are 90-day “rocks” that we review every single week—the biggest goals for the organization over the next three months. Reviewing rocks holds meeting members accountable:
- What’s happening with our rocks?
- Are we on track or off track?
- Are we making steady progress toward each one?
It’s pure accountability.
If you want to do more than you’ve ever done before, you must hold yourself to new standards. How many layers of accountability can you stack up to ensure you have a bulletproof plan going into 2023?
