What happens when you spend years consciously focused on developing your personal accountability?
For the past 18 or so months, my strength workouts in the gym can be counted on one hand. Why? Because of a massive client project that's consumed almost all my waking time on weekdays, and the great majority of weekend time not spent with family or friends.
Fortunately, this project began to taper back at the start of this year, allowing me to resume strength workouts. Because of my extended time away from weight training, I worked with two different personal trainers to jump-start my progress. Both were pleasantly surprised that I had very good form for squats, lunges, pushups, and a few other basic exercises.
Who was not very surprised? Me. Why? Because another trainer many years ago introduced me to the concept of “muscle memory.” Even when someone has not done a particular exercise in months or even years, their body and muscles “remember” what they need to do and do it. Since I had good form when I was still a regular at the gym, my “muscle memory” was set for “good form.”
Personal Accountability Muscle Memory
In early 2023, personal accountability author, speaker, and consultant Linda Galindo invited me to speak to her “Inner Circle” personal accountability group. Linda is one of my favorite authors on personal accountability, and we've been pen pals for over 13 years – thus, I quickly said I'd be pleased and honored to speak with her and her group.
On the “Inner Circle” meeting date, Linda, her support folks, and I all jumped on the web meeting shortly before the “Inner Circle” members joined. Linda said she's been a “fangirl” of mine for years, and I confessed I'm one of her “fanboys.”
The members joined, a few introductions were made, and then Linda asked me about my business. I shared a few examples of services frequently performed by Todd Herman Associates (THA), explained our “People-Process-Technology Yields ROI” philosophy and Venn Diagram blocks, and noted that we at THA assume that – if we do our job well – client employees will perform better and the business will improve its results. There's also a corollary to that – if we do our job well and the business does not see improved results, then our client has a People problem, and that's where someone like Linda can make a difference.
Next, Linda asked me about my introduction to personal accountability – I told the group this came at a leadership summit simulcast in August 2005, where the best-selling author, leadership speaker, and psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud shared how he finally completed his PhD thesis. He'd procrastinated until he saw a friend's ant farm and realized he, like the ants, needed to break down a seemingly monumental feat into a series of manageable tasks. He also shared a few key points of what he did to make sure he completed his thesis:
- Find an external structure, including finding an accountability partner, blocking time for weekly accountability meetings, and introduce some consequences.
- Learn the gift of process.
- Realize that what begins as external becomes internal.
Shortly afterwards, I decided to apply these lessons through a public personal accountability process and “report card” called Todd's Results. This began in January 2006 and ran through September 2013. Also in January 2006, I wrote my first article on personal accountability and also committed to write one article on the topic annually – that launched this “Intentional Reality” series, which has now lasted for 18 years!
Linda noted that whenever someone asks her for an overview of personal accountability, she directs them to my website. Thank you VERY much, Linda!! Similarly, when someone asks me about the same topic, I point them to Linda's website.
With that, Linda opened the meeting for questions from the group and they asked me about various personal accountability challenges I've experienced. In honesty, the challenges I faced were typically sticky problems with clients or staff, and I related how I addressed those and how things played out. This continued until the meeting concluded.
After the meeting, my Business Development Manager and I debriefed how things went, and I told her I realized I didn't really discuss my personal accountability challenges in the situations I mentioned. I wasn't sure why this was, so I mentally filed away this question.
Earlier this month, I finally realized the answer – I had focused so long and so deliberately on personal accountability that I embodied Henry Cloud's lesson, “What begins as external becomes internal!”
At some point, I no longer had to consciously focus on personal accountability because this particular “muscle” had developed “muscle memory.” That's why I didn't think to discuss my personal accountability in the “Inner Circle” scenarios – it had become so completely a part of me I was no longer consciously aware of it.
Improved Personal Accountability Yields Improved Performance
As I've written before, in 2009, an outside consultant and I set to revamp THA's performance plan and review process – and I was the guinea pig! In October 2009, we developed my performance plan for 2029 Q4, signed the form, and placed it in my personnel file.
Three months later, it was time for this consultant to conduct my review, and I realized my performance – objectively viewed and evaluated as she had done – was not as good as my subjective self-evaluation. This was, as Pete Lowe explained so well in the blog post “The Importance of Accountability,” the same as “marking your own homework” and only ever getting “the results you want yourself.” He noted that objective evaluations deliver genuine accountability, and this “comes with a fresh honesty that acknowledges where things can improve and a humility that tempers actions.”
Undaunted, I resolved to earn a “5-Outstanding” rating on my quarterly review. Little did I realize it would take 5 years and 20 quarterly reviews for me to first earn THA's highest rating! By this time, I'd focused on my personal accountability for nearly 9 years, and I credit that work with both helping me guide THA through several tough years and focusing me on the only thing I can control – myself.
Living Out a Paradox
Late in 2022, my Inbox served up an incredible e-newsletter from Hugh MacLeod titled “Chess But With Infinite Pieces.” I loved Hugh's drawing in the article, which included this caption – “The paradox of being ... insanely persistent ... yet insanely flexible.” In 2023, I had to live out both those qualities – being insanely persistent in the face of a torrent of business, while also being insanely flexible in finding ways to successfully handle all this work. As I reflect on 2023, I'm still amazed at everything that got done, including an office move with a new layout for my office showcasing a previously overlooked poster epitomizing grit and resilience!
What's In Store for 2024?
Once again, we begin a new year with a strong balance sheet, a solid backlog of work, and a proven business development process and track record. As I scale back my work on this major client project, I'm looking forward to once again being able to work “on the business” – and not just “in the business” – to solidify THA's resilience in handling both opportunities and challenges. Muscle memory – both in the gym and at THA – will be relied upon and developed in 2024!
Sincerely,
Todd L. Herman
