Accountability in childhood
When I was a kid I always walked alone to school because there was nobody from my class living in the same neighbourhood. Until one day there was a new girl whose home was in the same street as mine. We quickly agreed on going to school together and the early mornings were suddenly filled with joy and excitement. There was somebody waiting for me and it was simply more fun to walk together!
Overcome challenges together
This year I paired up with a friend to do a 30-day yoga routine, Ida found a quarantine walking buddy and for you, it could be someone who supports you in your next challenge. If you don't have a person like that, read on and discover why it’s good to have one.
An accountability partner isn't a 95% of success rate
A “lesson learned” kind of moment happened while I was writing this article. There is a research study that says you have a 95% chance to achieve your goals with an accountability partner. Sounds like magic, right? Even we believed that for a while because it was not only widely mentioned in the websites like Forbes, Medium, or Entrepreneur but also said to be done by the world’s largest Talent Development Association. After some investigation, it turned out that this "study" most likely does not exist. What science does confirm is that accountability is a very effective tool when combined with commitment and writing down goals.
Science says
You have 76% higher chance to make things happen if you write down your goals AND share them with an accountability partner.
Accountability is not coaching
So what does holding accountable really look like? Simply put, it's a two-way street where you work side by side on your own projects and support each other’s steps on the way. When we asked our pilot testers to help us with an example, Oriana described it as: “When I say out loud to Kristina (my buddy) what I will do, I know that I am meeting her in one week and I need to keep my promise''. Some definitions refer to an accountability partner as somebody who coaches another person, but you don’t need to be a coach to become an accountability buddy at the Playground.
Playful recipe with no translation
Since we started Playground, we have tried to define and translate “accountability” to languages we speak (Estonian, Serbian, Greek, Spanish) and a catchy translation doesn’t exist! Have you had an accountability buddy and is there a word it in your mother tongue? Let us know in the comments below.
P.S. If you know anything about the "95% " original study you can send it to us! P.S.S. Don't know where to find an accountability buddy? Click GET STARTED 😉