7 Big Benefits of Having an Accountability Coach

“Can you help me …..?” This is a question I get asked a lot as an accountability coach. What exactly does it mean? As an accountability coach, I’ve got to figure this out. When you come to someone like me, specializing in helping subject matter experts, we’re starting out on a journey together. Accountability coaches play a crucial role in guiding clients, holding them accountable, providing personalized strategies, and unlocking their potential. They help clients overcome challenges, foster consistency, and navigate personality blocks, ultimately aiding in personal and professional goal achievement.

Would you agree:

• It’s awesome to have better clarity, focus, and direction in your products and services?

• That the experience, expertise, and wisdom of a coach would help you reach your goals, dreams, and targets quicker than trying to go it alone?

• Having more fun, freedom, and finances is why you set out to help others in the first place?

In this article, you’ll learn:

• What an accountability coach is, the benefits of working with an accountability coach, and what to look for in one

• Accountability coaching for subject matter experts (coaches, consultants, authors, etc.)

• Examples of each benefit in practice within my own personal coaching practice

• Read on to find out more about an accountability coach…

What is accountability coaching?

An accountability coach is a hired professional that helps you: stay focused and on track with your goals; shares strategies, insights, and experience; and provides a personalized approach tailored to you with a personal touch.

If you never come across this, or thought about it, you may think about an army drill sergeant, shouting instruction at you: DROP DOWN AND GIVE ME 20.

Some may prefer to work in a more demanding style, but I personally am a more empathetic, firm but fair, and caring coach.

Being a subject matter expert myself, I approach your message, products, and services from a similar and familiar place. Using years of experience gained from working with many different coaches, authors, consultants, and experts, combined with unique protocols such as The Digital SMIAC Method™, a well-informed, diverse, and adaptable coach is what I offer you.

Accountability coaches work collaboratively with clients to help them set and achieve specific, measurable goals. They create an environment that encourages clients to take ownership of their actions and outcomes, highlighting the collaborative and supportive nature of their work.

Some of the ways in which accountability coaching will help you:

• Care, consideration, and empathy throughout your relationship together

• Providing tough love, or meaningful encouragement, at the right times

• Clarifying the most important goals, direction, and steps for you to take

• Regular meetings provide the necessary motivation and accountability to get things done

• Sharing of their expertise and experience which helps speed up your achievements and success

• To understand the importance of accountability coaching even more, check out the following stat….

In a study conducted by Prof. Gail Matthews, a psychologist from the Dominican University of California, a study was conducted by Prof. Gail Matthews, a psychologist from the Dominican University of California. –

Participants, from several different countries, aged 23 to 72, with 37 males and 112 females, were asked to write down goals with various extra conditions (eg report goal to a friend).

Among the conclusions, the study helped provide “empirical evidence for the effectiveness of three coaching tools: accountability, commitment and writing down one’s goals.”

So you can see how important it becomes to add that accountability factor to your goal setting.

That’s all great, but how does that help you?

Well, read on below to find out the benefits of accountability coaching….

7 benefits of working with an accountability coach 

1 – Figuring out what to delegate, and do more of what you love

“How can I do more of what I love?”, is something I’m sure you’ve asked yourself many times over. Honing in on strengths, talents, abilities, and gifts (S.T.A.G) is the best way to go towards this.

An accountability coach can help you get to more love and joy in your work.

I like to get to know you very well before we begin working together. The initial phases of getting to know you, allows me to work out where you currently are and where you want to go. I may even use tools, such as DISC for personally and SWOT analysis for business, to further help you.

By helping you identify your S.T.A.G, you’re more energised, focussed, and encouraged.

Why encouraged?

As you do the things that you are good at and love, you see more growth, profit and confidence when you’re regularly hitting targets and meeting goals.

You may be wondering: “how and why delegate?”

Delegating aspects of your work – the things you don’t enjoy or are not good at – is a powerful method of massive growth and great enjoyment. Your accountability coach can help you identify the areas best to delegate and where to do so.

What delegation also allows is for you to spend more time working on your business and not in it. For example, an author may have no interest or clue in book design, so your coach can help you identify where to get this done. Not designing it yourself allows you to save time and work on the aspects you love the most.

Increasing love and delegating are powerful. But how do you know if you’re on the right track? You would do this…..

Doing more of what you love increases your chances of the life of your dreams

Accountability coaching can also lead to a better work-life balance, making lasting and meaningful life changes.

2 – Progress tracking more effectively, making sure you stay on track

How do you know if you’re on the right track?

Through measure and metrics.

Your accountability coach will help you identify KPIs, or other suitable perimeters, to measure growth, effectiveness of current goals, and general performance. They provide regular check-ins for progress tracking, ensuring you stay on course towards your goals.

Regular meetings, (Fortnightly, weekly or monthly), help to manage and improve performance. As you see what needs to be delivered for the following week, you’re more clear and focussed.

Knowing the amount of goals and targets to hit, means you’re working at a level that’s just right; too easy, and no growth happens, boredom and underwhelm creeps in; too hard, and overwhelm and stress kicks in – both debilitate performance and derail progress.

With easily identified goals and targets, written down or on your computer, this allows a results-driven approach. The accountability coach helps with the best ways and appropriate hand-holding to get to those weekly results.

Achieving and meeting the right and best goals and targets, combined with the guidance of your accountability coach, helps to boost confidence, competence and clarity leading to greater results, rewards, and reputation.

Measuring and metrics help with seeing the results of your goal setting

3 – An accountability coach can help by holding clients accountable and removing procrastination

I’ve struggled with this many times in my life. It destroys potential. It wastes time. It can even affect mental wellbeing. I’m sure you’ve felt this A LOT. I wouldn’t hold it against you if you felt that way deciding whether to read this article. You guessed it right, the dreaded “P”: Procrastination.

A weekly meet up with your accountability coach keeps you on the path of inspiration. Not wanting to let down your coach, with clear, achievable goals, helps to eliminate the dreaded “P”.

The finality and upcoming nature of a deadline is both scary and inspiring. You may think you have all day or ” I’ll do it tomorrow”, but that is destructive, depressive and drags you away from your desired destination.

Many people suffer from this state because they don’t have enough clarity of what to do and why it is important to do it. Add in the possibility that the goal may be too difficult; no wonder you would procrastinate, hesitate and frustrate.

But an accountability coach helps you combat all of this. The coach’s 3 Es: experience, expertise, and empathy help you set the best and right goals, that are achievable within set timeframes. By holding clients accountable, the coach ensures you stay on track and maintain discipline. This helps increase your enthusiasm, inspiration, and action towards meeting goals and targets.

Escaping procrastination frees you up for greater joy and success

4 – Gaining crystal-clear clarity and focus

Why does accountability prove to be so effective?

Because the deadline of a regular meet, combined with not letting down another person, coupled with precise challenges and targets to hit. This ensures a greater chance of achieving your outcomes.

Regular meetups with your coach are mentioned, why so? Going back to the study mentioned previously by Gail Mathews, you can see people have the highest chance of making big progress in achieving goals when giving weekly reports to another.

An accountability coach helps identify the most important short, medium, and long term goals; where and how much energy and focus to apply to get you in the important space of traction and momentum.

The expertise and experience of your accountability coach means they can spot gaps, opportunities, and pain points that you’ve not seen. This further aids in refining and defining sharper focus and clearer vision as you go along on your journey.

Benefit 4 is incredible, but let me share with you what managing this important part of your life does…..

With better accountability, you sharpen your focus and clarify your vision

Throughout the coaching journey, continuous support and guidance are provided to ensure you stay on track and achieve your goals. This journey is enhanced by the use of technology, such as mobile apps, online platforms, and virtual meetings, which facilitate ongoing communication and support.

5 – Better time management and better work life balance, doing the most important things

What would more time mean to you? More time with loved ones? Travel and see the world? Spend time on your craft? Engage in charitable acts?

Effective management of time helps you to get there. And an accountability coach is the best person to help you achieve this.

One of the things you invest in when hiring your coach, is the wealth of experience they have, particularly as it relates to failures and mistakes.

One of the ways this helps you is in how to avoid certain pitfalls around the goals set and progress made. Imagine one piece of advice that saves you a month in time, that you invest into productive output in your business.

An accountability coach helps you set specific, measurable goals and create actionable plans to achieve them. They provide continuous support and motivation, regularly checking in to monitor progress and address challenges, ultimately helping you stay on track and maintain discipline to reach your objectives.

Time management, with the experience and expertise of your accountability coach, also helps in the following ways:

• Better boundaries around your time, eliminating wastage and getting more done

• A record of your goals, targets, and metrics, whether on paper or computer, allows you to free yourself from the overwhelm and stress of keeping everything in your head.

• Prioritised actions helps you plan your day, week, month better. You can ensure that the right amount of time is spent on the right activity at the right moment.

Accountability coaching helps you get more out of your time

6 – Achieving your goals and targets

Why even set goals?

Sure, we’ve gone through much of the article mentioning goals and goal setting. But if you have never done so, or set goals currently that don’t seem to go anywhere, understandably, it may be a question you’re asking a lot of yourself.

Everything is a result of a goal, right?

Not to set a goal is a goal within itself lol. Every great building, product, or service had the goal-setting process throughout it. We humans wouldn’t have gathered the wood to keep us warm and keep away the sabre tooth without goals.

Those times were then, and modern times, in it’s own way, can seem just as stressful, overwhelming and scary.

This brings us to your accountability coach. They set goals themselves in their business and personal lives. They metric, measure, and improve their own goals. As they have done so for many other clients.

Your coach will help you set the right goals, perhaps using the SMART method or other proven systems, to help you achieve goals.

These goals and targets you set will be the most important, prioritised and meaningful for you to achieve.

And as shown in the previous study, accountability is quite possibly the most important part of goal setting. And the coach’s ability to help you identify potential obstacles and avoid pitfalls plays a powerful part in your progress.

Setting the right goals is crucial. But what does the next underrated benefit do for you? Read on…..

You and your coach can identify the best goals and targets to aim for

7 – ”the personal touch” – a warm, friendly and personal experience  

The final benefit is perhaps the most underrated of the 7. When you get an accountability coach, you are entering into a, hopefully, long term relationship. Things will get personal, trust will be involved, and private things shared.

Your accountability coach will bring a personalised touch, working with you as an individual taking into account temperament, communication style and other requirements. They will offer constructive feedback, providing insights and suggestions to help you refine your strategies and overcome obstacles.

If you are more of an impulsive character, the tough love approach or firm nudges in the right direction can be incredibly helpful. This helps you to persevere through the tough times and feel inspired during the good times.

If you are a more driven and ambitious type, the expertise, guidance, and wisdom from your coach will provide a massive advantage in the marketplace.

Additionally, given the personalised nature of accountability coaching, it far outweighs group coaching and do it yourself approaches.

With group, you don’t get the full, undivided attention of the coach. Also, perhaps you’d like to share private things, but can’t. Finally, group may provide to be stressful or fearful for the shyer or more introverted of people.

With do it yourself, this is perhaps the most costly, challenging, and wasteful of all types of coaching. How would you know if you’re doing things correctly? Or on the right path? Books and courses can help only to a certain, limited, level. But too many drawbacks to this approach means it may not even be worth considering.    The personalised approach of accountability coaching adds another layer to your success.

Summing up

An accountability coach gets you to achieve your goals faster, efficiently, and effectively. They’re a great investment (not really a cost if you think about it), and help you have more fun, freedom, and finances. The coaching industry is significant and challenging, requiring dedication and responsibility to help clients achieve real results and hold oneself accountable for their success.

You read about the study showing empirical evidence about the benefit of attaching accountability to goal setting.

You read of the amazing benefits of working with a coach and bringing accountability coaching into your service of being a subject matter expert.

An accountability coach provides direction; shares expertise and experience; gives a personalised approach; helps free up time and much more.

To answer the question from the beginning: “Yes, I can help. What do you need help with? Or “what would you like help with?”

Jatinder Palaha

Digital Business Coach | Web Revenue Strategist | Award-Winning IT Consultant | Author 

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With over 18 years of industry experience in business and personal development, I’ve successfully been working with coaches, consultants and authors set up the right systems and implement strategic content strategies to start, grow and scale their businesses online with automation, digital products and services. (To work with Jatinder – click here)