Tell them specifically what your goals are.

Who is accountable for your goals, well of course you are. But who reminds you of your accountability? This is the power of coaching and of belonging to a mastermind group, having other people to help hold you accountable. In this lesson we will discuss accountability.
Accountability (a contract with yourself or someone else) is a vital key in the goal-setting process. I can assure you there have been many times when I have set action items to achieve by a certain date and as I approach my date to get back with members of my mastermind group, have gone into a 24/7 schedule to assure that I accomplish what I had told my other mastermind members I was going to achieve. Accountability puts some teeth into the goal setting process. The power of putting your goals in writing and then describing the process, results wanted, etc in front of your mastermind group is very powerful.
Webster defines accountable as, "liable to being called to account; answerable." In other words, it means to give an account of your actions to yourself or another person/ persons. Accountability is a very broad word, yet accountability is essentially follow-up. When someone knows what your goals are, they follow up and hold you accountable by asking you to "give an account" of where you are in the process of achieving that goal. Human nature is such that when we know someone else is going to ask us about it, we are much more motivated to get it done.
In the basic sense, there are two kinds of accountability: internal and external. Internal accountability is essentially the level of integrity you maintain not only throughout the evaluation process but also in life. It means that when you look at yourself, you judge yourself with honesty. This is where you hold yourself accountable to doing what you said you would do. If you've messed up, saying, "I've messed up", but if you've done well then you can celebrate your progress. Let the internal accountability prod you and spur you on to greater action in pursuit of your achievements.
Here are a few ideas on how to hold yourself accountable:
1. Write down your goals so they become "objective." You can't go back and say, "That wasn't really my goal."
2. Be ruthlessly honest with yourself when you assess whether or not you have met the goal (of course, if you were specific in your S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting, you won't have much wiggle room here anyway).
3. If you fall short of your goal, or if you are falling short while on the way, knuckle down and hold yourself accountable to do what it takes to make up the ground so that you can hit that goal!
4. Set a time frame in which you will evaluate your progress and hold yourself accountable.
The second aspect of accountability is that it is external. Find someone else or a mastermind group to hold you accountable. When we commit to giving an account to someone else for our actions and goals, we take it to the next level. You must be internally accountable but outside accountability will help you stay the course.
Having a mastermind group of like-minded people is a very powerful force if used correctly. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you use a mentor or mastermind group.
1. Choose a mentor or mastermind group that cares for your success and that can be tough and honest with you. This person or group needs to have both of these characteristics. They need to care about you (and you have to know and feel that care) because you become vulnerable by making yourself accountable to them. They need to be tough and honest though, because you don't want to have them shy away from telling you to get on the ball when you are slacking, getting behind or not doing the job.
2. Tell them specifically what your goals are.
3. Commit to being honest with them.
4. Give them permission to speak both words of encouragement, as well as words of challenge when the situation calls for it.
5. Agree on a reasonable time frame in which you will allow them to evaluate your progress and hold you accountable.
6. Follow up on their words when they challenge you or call you to action.
When we have someone or a mastermind group holding us accountable, we bring others onto our team who will make us stronger, who will make us soar higher, and who will cause our lives to be much richer because of their involvement.