But having a partner isn't like having a genie that will grant you three accountability wishes. It takes work and responsibility for both parties.

Accountability You Can Count On

The best and most effective accountability partnerships I've been a part of have had these six characteristics in common:

• Clarity. Have clear objectives in mind for your project or goal. And know exactly why you're seeking someone to help hold you accountable.
• Honesty. First, be honest with yourself. Why do I want to work with an accountability partner? Then be honest with your partner. How can they best help you to achieve your goals?
• Reciprocity. Make sure that your partnership isn't just a one-way street. Even if you're the person who's being helped, find ways to say "thank you" and perhaps help your partner with a challenge or goal they may be facing.
• Consistency. Set consistent times to meet. Share expectations and topics prior to each meeting. Follow up with action steps. Who does what next?
• Closure. Even if the partnership is ongoing and long-lasting, remember to close specific chapters as progress is made and projects are completed.

Celebration. Make a big deal about your successes, no matter how small. And remember to express gratitude to the person who's helped you stay on task.

Accountability Partners' Checklist

Asking questions is a great way to define roles and responsibilities – and to set clear expectations up front for both partners. One accountability partner I worked with for many years would ask some version of the same questions when I'd come to him with a new project, challenge or idea:

• What's your specific goal?
• What is your plan for achieving the goal?
• How much time will it take?
• Where will you find the time?
• When do you expect to finish?
• What might get in your way?
• How will you overcome this?
• What will success look like?

By getting me to answer these questions up front, he was already starting to hold me accountable. When I've been able to return the favor, and helped colleagues to stay accountable, I've found that it's just as rewarding for me as for the person I'm trying to help.

And by helping them to stay on task, I learn along the way and shore up my own accountability behaviors.

Help Is All Around – If You Know Where to Look

As you seek an accountability partner, understand that one type of partnership may not fit every situation or goal. I have colleagues who've joined accountability communities that meet regularly to help all members focus and make progress toward their individual goals.

And recently I've co-partnered with an accountability partner. They help me and I help them.

No matter the accountability path you choose, remember the basics: work with someone you trust; set clear goals; respect the time, talents and energy your partner is sharing; show up, do the work; share results; and thank them.

What's Next?

It's not easy to stick to a goal. There are so many ways you can go off track, especially if you’re trying to achieve your objective all by yourself.

Partnering with another person can help to keep both of you accountable. When both of you are clear, committed and trustworthy, you’ll reap the benefits of getting big things done while knowing that someone has your back.

These Mind Tools resources will help you be accountable to yourself and support your team members in staying accountable, too.

Carrots and Sticks: Unlock the Power of Incentives to Get Things Done. Apply insights from behavioral economics to achieve your hard-to-reach goals.

Developing Personal Accountability. Take ownership of your choices and manage your time effectively.

Holding People Accountable. Ensure your team is on the same page about who’s responsible for what.

Tip of the Week

Rising to a New Challenge

By Melanie Bell, Mind Tools Content Editor

How do you approach a new challenge? Are you intimidated? Excited? Maybe a little bit of both?

Last year, my team had the opportunity to take part in creating AI Conversations, a new tool that uses AI technology to help managers and leaders practice having difficult discussions, receive feedback, and improve their negotiation skills.

Suddenly, we were facing a lot of new things at the same time: a new project, a new partner organization to collaborate with, and a new technology that we’d only dabbled in prior to this initiative.

How did we deal with all these new things?

We began by asking questions. Some of the Mind Tools staff met with our partner organization, Learning Pool, and fleshed out just how the project would work. What would we do? What would they do? And how?

We also showed willingness to try. While we might feel nervous at times about trying something new, we left our comfort zones and experimented. And when something didn’t work the first time, we tried a different approach.

Finally, we all supported each other. The content team took a partnership approach to the project, with a more experienced team member guiding another through scenario development, and so on until our scenarios were done.

If you’re managing a team and approaching a new challenge, remember to begin with a spirit of inquiry, be willing to dive in to the project, and support each other’s learning.

Read more about “How We Built AI Conversations” on the Mind Tools blog.

Pain Points Podcast

Giving interviews is never easy. How do you know you’re asking the right questions? How can you tell whether the interviewee will succeed in the role?

Join the Pain Points podcast team this week as they discuss giving interviews – sharing tips and tricks on getting it right as well as stories of their own experiences interviewing people.

Subscribe Today

News Roundup

This Week's Global Workplace Insights

Unequal Access to Working From Home

Does your job allow you to work remotely? You might be one of the lucky ones.

New findings from the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, discussed in Harvard Business Review, show growing inequality in the demographics of people who work from home.

Remote working is popular with employees, but many who might wish to work this way don’t have the opportunity to do so.

An analysis of job postings reveals a stark divide: remote work opportunities are rare for lower earning jobs, those that require less education or experience, and part-time jobs.

The “bigger” (and less accessible) the job, the more likely it is to offer flexibility. And these inequalities are much larger than they were in 2019.

So what can managers do if they want to address this inequality? Start by acknowledging that it exists. Then see if you can take actions to reduce inequity, such as facilitating similar onsite hours for front-line staff and managers, or allowing compressed hours for staff whose jobs require them to commute in.

A New Purpose for Business Travel

Business travel is on the rise following lockdown-era dips. And the BBC reports that it’s happening for different reasons than before.

Meeting clients in person was once regular practice, but now these meetings are usually done virtually, making them more cost-effective.

Likewise, with hybrid and remote working more commonplace, colleagues who once bonded in the office need other ways to build connections.

The Global Business Travel Association found that business travel spending is expected to surpass the pre-COVID range of $1.4 trillion this year. Research from Harvard Business Review suggests that spending has shifted from sales-oriented travel to team-building trips.

Remote employees can feel disconnected, and offsite, in-person events may help to improve communication and morale. Seems like business travel is here to stay – even if it looks a little different.

If you're managing a virtual workforce, try combining these in-person get-togethers with management techniques from Mind Tools' Top Tips for Leading Remote Teams.

See you next week for more member-exclusive content and insight from the Mind Tools team!