If your new goals are set and your teams are ready to start the year strong, how can you make sure you’re hitting your target goals every month and quarter?
People ask me all the time how accountability help achieves success, and my answer is that anything that is tracked or measured improves, and anything that is tracked, measured and reported to another human being will exponentially improve. Therefore, it is not enough to just be accountable to yourself to reach your goals. Being self-motivated and driven is incredibly helpful, but the act of sharing goals with another person keeps you committed, and is really a constant reminder of the goals you set for yourself and the commitment you made when you set them. Simply put, a person who is holding another person accountable is reminding them how important the goals were to that person at the time they set them.
So often, people make a negative connotation to the word “accountability,” but the upside of accountability is a relentless focus and the achievement of desired outcomes. Whether you are holding other people accountable as a leader or you are being held accountable, this practice can be life-changing and incredibly rewarding. Here are some strategies that will help you achieve your short- and long-term goals through accountability:
1. Write your goals down and carry them around with you every day.
When we commit our goals to writing, we are crystal-clear on what we want to achieve. Make them specific and simple, and don’t have too many. Pick the most important 3-4 that you want to achieve personally, professionally, financially, physically, educationally and even spiritually. If you only focus on the professional and financial, you won’t be healthy emotionally, spiritually or physically, and you risk burnout—and what good are your achieved goals if you are totally burned out and can’t enjoy them?
2. Share them with someone who will be responsible for holding you accountable to them.
Choosing this person can be easy for some and tough for others. You want to really think about why you are asking this person. It may be your manager, your team leader, your broker or your coach. This person has to follow through with the task at hand, or there will be no accountability. This person’s impact on your success is incredibly impactful.
3. Determine the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) of your goals to track and measure your activity.
KPIs are the best way to measure how you are performing toward attainment of your desired results. How many listing appointments you schedule and attend weekly is a great KPI, or, how many listing agreements you have taken weekly compared to your goals. How many new sales are on the board each week and month compared to your goals, as well as how much income are you making per month in closings? These predetermined goals are what you want to achieve. The KPIs will be the measuring of activities you need to do to achieve the goal. Tracking these and focusing on them weekly will have you zeroed in on those goals that are most important and where you should be spending your time daily and weekly. The KPIs are the activities that produce the outcomes. Hyper-focus on them will keep them as a priority.
4. Pre-arrange and schedule regular check-ins to report on activity with your accountability person.
Maybe you turn in your number of calls made each day and number of appointments set for the week to your accountability coach. I suggest having a predetermined, set schedule of when and how you are reporting in, both with numbers and results, as well as a meeting in-person or through a phone/video conference call. Having this already on the calendar means it is scheduled, and will not be moved or cancelled. Keeping to this commitment will keep you on track to success.
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The fantastic thing about accountability is that you will be reminded of your goals, measuring your performance and reporting to your other person daily and weekly. Think about it: You can join a gym and never go on your own. When you hire a personal trainer, you have a person you are now committed to meet with, so your success will increase because of the act of having to show up for this person to obtain results. Accountability will drive your sales and income. When you apply this strategy, amazing things happen, and you achieve more than you even thought you wanted or were capable of achieving. I look forward to hearing your accountability success stories at yourock@sherrijohnson.com!
For a free copy of my exclusive goal-setting business plan to help you have your best year ever, click here.
Sherri Johnson is CEO and founder of Sherri Johnson Coaching & Consulting. With 20 years of experience in real estate, Johnson offers coaching, consulting and keynotes, and is a national speaker for the Homes.com Secrets of Top Selling Agents tour and the Official Real Estate Coach for McKissock Learning and Real Estate Express. Sign up for a free 30-minute coaching strategy session or visit www.sherrijohnson.com for more information.
