I have had an accountability partner for over 2 years, with whom I share my weekly review and goals for the new week. Our relationship is one of the most important ones in my life and as I encourage others to create such partnerships I feel the need to lay out some basic rules for beginners to make the best of it.

Do:
Review status of goals set for the past week.
Share what worked and what didn’t.
Share how you will improve this week.
Share your goals for the week ahead.

After your partner does the same:
Challenge your partner about their goals and deadlines:
Their goals might be unclear, conflicting, too big or too small.
Their deadlines might be too distant or too soon.

Get Curious:
Ask why they didn’t do what they said they would.
Ask why this week would be any different.

Encourage them to set implementation intentions for their goals by specifying the when and where and how of the goal.
Let them think it through with you if needed.
Keep a fixed time of the day or the week for check-ins, a weekly call is ideal.
Ask for more check-ins if you need it.

Don’t:
Act as a parent to your partner, you are peers in this relationship.
Guilt or God forbid shame your partner for not doing what they said they would.
Judge your partner.
Give up too soon on your partner.
Hold back. Share both your struggles and wins.
Skip Check-ins. Respect this partnership.

I encourage you to find someone who can both inspire you and challenge you to move forward to be your partner. Much of the credit of my consistent improvements goes to my amazing accountability partner, and I am so grateful we built this relationship.