Ever heard the phrase “plan your work and work your plan?”  Well, creating your plan for the year (see my “Groundhog Day” post from December) is the “plan your work” part.  As you know having a plan and living your plan can be two very different things!  So this post is devoted to “working your plan.”  Keeping it in front of you, having it guide your actions, and celebrating your successes along the way.

Accountability Partners
Have you shared your plan with anyone else?  There’s nothing more motivating to actually achieve your goals than telling others who will pay attention, and you will have to face on a regular basis.  Tell your spouse, your neighbor, your customers (so long as your goals are consistent with delivering greater value to them!). 

However, many of those people either won’t be interested in, or shouldn’t be subjected to the nitty gritty of your progress.  A great technique to keep you focused and inspired is to form a partnership with one or more similarly motivated leaders.  Call it a mastermind group, an accountability partnership, an “I’ll kick your butt if you kick mine” pact…whatever you like. 

The key!
Here’s the key that only recently came to light for me.  Your team, your partners, are not there to beat you up over missing your goals or falling behind.  Stuff happens to get in your way.  Your group is there to hold you accountable to tracking your own progress and focusing on what YOU said was important.  I am part of a great group of leaders that meet twice per month.  We hold each other accountable for attending our meetings, share are successes and setbacks, and help one another stay focused and productive. 

So your accountability team is not there to ridicule you for falling down; they’re there to remind you to get back up.  The fact that you have associated them with how much you will pay attention to your commitments is what makes it work. 

Want to do a better job “working your plan?”  Find a couple of like-minded, success-oriented friends or colleagues and commit to sharing your goals, developing a list of daily/weekly actions that will get your closer to your goals, and report to one another regularly.