19. Partner up on your goals
If you want to build connection AND exponentially increase the likelihood that your team follows through on what matters, try this.
What?
Research from the Association for Talent Development shows that intentional connection can more than 9X your odds of reaching your goals. The secret ingredient? Accountability—structured through partnership.
Here’s what the data shows about the probability of achieving your goal.
Set a goal: 10%
Consciously decide to do it:25%
Assign a timeline: 40%
Make a plan: 50%
Commit to someone else: 65%
Have weekly, consistent check-ins with that someone: 95%
So what?
That’s a huge leap!
I tend to think of myself as pretty self-motivated. And yet. I wouldn’t go for walks in the winter without our dog, Iggy, staring me down.
I wouldn’t work out without having already paid for a class. And, I only “found’ the time to start writing a book (a goal I’ve had for years) after setting up regular check-ins with an accountability partner.
Accountability partners don’t just improve follow-through. They turn isolated effort into shared momentum—making the process more fun, increasing social time, deepening connection, and providing emotional support.
Individual willpower is unreliable. Structure isn’t. Projectconnect is built on the same idea: instead of hoping people build relationships on their own, we create the conditions that make it happen.
Now What? Establish accountability partners
To connect:
Identify something you want to do, but have had trouble following through on. Then:
Find a friend or accountability partner with a shared goal. Set up a regular time to do the thing together, or check in about progress (even a weekly text can shift follow-through dramatically).
Connection-Building Tip: Partner up on a goal
Establish accountability partners for meaningful stretch projects—not routine tasks.
Create “peer success teams.” Embed this into your organizational connection strategy—not as a one-off activity, but as an ongoing practice.
What about you? Please share your responses in the comments—I love hearing from you!
What’s something you wouldn’t have done on your own that you were able to achieve with an accountability partner?
What’s something you’d like to find an accountability partner for?