Accountability and Personal Success Defined

2-13-08 ( a Re-Write of my original ramblings from 11-05-06.)

Accountability. The dictionary definition reads:

“the state of being accountable, liable, or answerable.”

The dictionary listed a second definition when the word is applied to educators:

“a policy of holding schools and teachers accountable for students' academic progress by linking such progress with funding for salaries, maintenance, etc. “

I appreciate the second definition of the word, as I think it helps to explain a larger concept of accountability. The concept being that being accountable means that there is a cost to failing.

In many situations there is a social cost. If a father fails in his responsibility to his children to raise and protect them, by abandoning his responsibility, then in society he is looked down upon. One of the ‘costs’ of his failure is his standing in society. Of course there are many other costs associated with this particular failure as well, and unfortunately children often are the ones to suffer because of it.

This social paycheck is quite powerful. Most people are motivated by the respect and admiration that they gain as they increase their financial holdings or position in work or even political position in government. The motivation that a person draws from increasing his status in society varies from person to person.

Most every one, if they stop to think about it for a moment, can think of someone else, or some social group where they would like to be respected and though highly of. This may, (and should,) include a spouse and other family members. For most people even old acquaintances, and to varying degrees even perfect strangers can elicit at least some desire to be respected and thought highly of by them.

There are of course many other ‘paychecks’ that can be used to motivate a person to be accountable. One motivator is of course an actual paycheck that you bring home from your job. That money helps to motivate employees to fulfill their duties at work.

Another paychecks or reward that can be used as motivator is ‘Self Accountability’. I’d like to define that as the reward (or cost,) of meeting (or failing,) the requirements of success that each individual sets for themselves. Every person’s standard for measuring what success means to them is different from every other person. Like a finger print, that ‘Success Standard’ helps to define who we are, and yet like a finger print, every persons definition will vary to at least some degree.

The social groups that a person belongs to will all have an impact on the definition of success for that person. If some one works at a job, belongs to a golf club, attends a church, and has an extended family that likes to stay close, then all of those social groups will impact the personal definition of success for that person. If they also participate in the community, in the PTA, or on a city counsel for example, those social groups will also play a part in how success is defined for that individual. The priority that the person puts on each of those influences will also play a part. For example – when there is a church meeting, a PTA meeting, a work responsibility and a daughters beauty pageant that all fall on the same night, where a person spends their time that evening will tend to define the priority that person places on each of those groups.

The main point is that every persons definition of success is different from every other persons, and there are thousands of influences on that definition.

This definition of success still exists even if it isn’t written down, or even consciously defined. All of those motivators from self, and the outside influence of the various social groups that people belong to all mix together to form a personal definition of success. On some level, a personal measurement is made against how they are succeeding or failing when compared against their internal definition of success.

I once read, though I can’t remember who wrote it, that;

“Every day a man should know whether he has won or lost.”

I completely agree with that.

The point that I am trying to make is the same point that the Greek’s and those that continue their discussions, have been chit chatting about for Eons.

“Temet Nosce!” And no less important, “Sui Juis”

(“Know Thyself” and “One’s Own Master”)

That personal definition of success is already a part of every person – those that can do a bit of introspection and dig it out to look at it, can then start to revise it to have a conscious impact on that definition of success. Instead of blindly letting some sub conscious ambiguously defined definition of success impact you on a continuing basis, a person that has taken the time to clearly define what success means to them, has a much better chance to actually attain it that some one that has not consciously clarified that definition.

Once you have that definition of personal success, you can begin to allocate your time accordingly. With conscious thought put into the definition you may see that things that seemed so important at work, that took so much time up, don’t really fit in to your true definition of success.

Something that happens if introspection doesn’t happen and success isn’t consciously defined for a person, is that it becomes easier for other peoples wills and desires to influence you.

To explain, lets take for example a man that has a job that has started requiring him to work late most every night and most weekends. If he hasn’t clearly defined all of the other areas that he wants to find success in, like family, church, local government (city council for example,) then it becomes easier for him to let the demands of the workplace take priority and soon, there is just not enough time for him to succeed in those other areas of his life that have importance. Some of those areas, like family, may be way up on the priority list when compared to his job, but they may suffer, if a conscious effort hasn’t been made to define the priorities.

Now, this same situation could occur and may even fall right in line with the plans of that person, but there is a difference when it is a planned sacrifice verses being led by another’s will. A person may actually plan to spend a few years really working hard to save up money for their family so that they may have a better life. Sacrifices on extracurricular activities might be made in order to achieve some goal or another. Personally I know of many families that have made sacrifices while a husband or wife finishes school in the hopes that those sacrifices will pay off in the long run and that the education will benefit them. The difference lies in the fact that they are all following a course of action that will help them to succeed at a very clearly defined goal.

Once that goal has been defined, there are many things that can be done to help to measure accountability. There is a book by Frank Bettcher that is very helpful to anyone in the sales industry. He defines several things that he did to help track his activities in sales that he says ‘raised himself from failure to success.’ I have several ideas on measuring accountability that I will save for another article.

For now, let me conclude with the sage advice I received from my father. He said;

“Write down your goals.”

He actually said a lot more on that subject, but that is the short and the sweet of it. I have found when I followed that advice, 9 times out of 10 I’ll achieve the goal I wrote down. If I just ‘think up’ a goal and let it float around in my brain, not captured by pen or paper, those odds really go down.

So, bottom line is this, if you will;

First:

Think about all the areas in your life that you would like to succeed in. (introspection)


Second:

Prioritize those areas and clarify your personal definition of success.

Third:

Prioritize and write down the goals for each of those areas.


Here is what you will get:

You will have a much easier time achieving those goals because they are written down and you can focus on making choices that will help you succeed.

You will receive the hard to measure value of having a measuring stick to let you know whether you have won or whether you have lost each day. With that measure in place, you can start making choices about where to spend your time and efforts that will eventually turn each day into a win!

Best of all you will understand what it feels like succeeding at being accountable to yourself. When you are measuring up to your own definition of success that accounts for all of the variable in your life properly prioritized in order of importance and when you are succeeding at the goals set in each of those areas, the feeling is incredible!

By,

Wade L. Hone