“Accountability Coach” was not a term mentioned by Stephen Covey when he wrote his best selling book “7 Habits of highly effective people”. Maybe it should have been.
For many years, Lucy & I have taken one high level training or coaching course every year. We have created and sold high ticket digital training programs, and also coached others in selling courses of their own.
In each of these roles, we have noticed one common feature. Whatever the amount invested, the majority of people fail to turn the knowledge into income. In fact, far too many simply don’t even get the first step completed.
Digital Equivalent of entrepreneurial seizure
In 7 Habit’s, Stephen Covey described a concept he called an “entrepreneurial seizure.” We noticed that something similar gets in the way of moving your income production online.
Naturally, most people spend their lives working as part of an organization of some sort.
Working in that situation, they simply play their role. When that is combined with the roles of others a product or service gets delivered, and a business runs smoothly. That all changes when you decide to create an online income stream on the side.
Learning from a great coach
Fans of America’s National Football League (the NFL) will recognize Bill Belichick. He is one of the greatest and most quoted coaches of all time. Interestingly, his quotes never relate to how to technically carry out a football skill. Like an accountability coach his focus is on getting the best out of the “client”, in his case the player.
. “Whatever success I’ve had it is because I’ve tried to understand the situation of the player. I think the coach’s duty is to avoid complicating matters.”
– Bill Belichick.
(image courtesy of Medium.com )
Getting a digital education
One of the great things about learning online skills is that you don’t need formal courses, universities or degrees. You can easily find quality training, delivered by reputable organizations online. Mostly these courses are not just theory, but practical skills to be put into practice as you learn.
Normally, you can work through the training and apply the information at your own pace. But, for most of the people we have seen over the years that is the problem.
We have been amazed to see students who pay $2,000-$5,000 for a quality structured training and never get passed the first few modules. Even in $25,000 coaching programs some can’t bring themselves to take the first step. Others in the same group, with the same content, create entire new income streams.
You can avoid falling into that same trap?
What is an accountability coach?
The training you paid for is probably well structured, the problem is there are no deadlines.
Apart from feeling regret about the money you have spent there are no consequences for doing nothing. Like Bill Belichick, a good accountability coach changes that.
You work with them to clarify where you are now. from there, you can establish simple structures, goals, timelines etc. All of these will help you take the steps you intended to take when you paid for the training.
What does an Accountability Coach do?
There are many different approaches your coach can take, but in the end what they are there to do is to keep you on track. Using email, telephone, Zoom or face to face, the intention and process is the same.
They are not there to tell you how to do things, that is what your training course does. Instead, your coach will make you accountable for doing what it is you say you want to do. It is much easier to do what you say, than to repeatedly try to justify not doing it.
If the steps you are trying to take are too big, your coach can help you break it down, get on track and get it done.
Combining encouragement and a feedback loop, with a well structured training, and you are much more likely to get the results you want.
How much does an accountability coach cost?
We have been surprised to see that most training and coaching programs do not include an accountability component. One of the few that does is the EBusiness Institute, and it is a major factor in the success they achieve for their high end coaching clients.
But, if you are investing in an online training, which does not have a “live” accountability component, it is easy to arrange one for yourself for a fraction of the cost of your course.
In most cases, a 30 minute session with an accountability coach just once or twice a month will be enough to get you where you want to go. As a guide, you can probably get a quality coach for around $80 -$100 per session. Cheap compared to wasting the cost of your course, or missing out on the income you should create from it.
Online accountability coach
One reason the service is so inexpensive is that in most cases your coach will work with you online, by email and Zoom. This means no wasted time, and allows you to work with the best coach you can find from anywhere.
Accountability coach certification
It’s true there are no formal qualifications or certification required to act as an Accountability coach, and many people find a coach by word of mouth.
Even so, I suggest our clients work with a coach who has completed certification with an organization like Progressive Solutions. They always have the systems and skills needed and we can rely on them to follow through.
Ongoing Relationship with your coach
Because your coach does not need to be an expert in the things you are doing, you can choose to have a long term relationship with the same coach. We often go back to ours when moving in a new direction, or when a major objective needs to be met.
Once you have completed your course, applying it and turning knowledge into income becomes the next stage of the game. Doing it alone is like working through that entrepreneurial seizure again.
Keep your accountability coach involved, it proves to be a smart investment.
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