Taking Your Personal Accountability Public

Accountability: anything or anyone that helps you gain mental leverage to achieve the results you desire.

—The Accountability Stop

Public accountability — as in sharing your goals publicly — is the most extroverted of the accountability techniques. Personally, I think real life sharing functions differently from internet sharing. Today we’ll focus on the IRL aspects.

Public accountability was held in reasonably high regard until this study by Gollwitzer et al in 2009 made everyone rethink the idea. In effect, it said that our brains feel the same reward for telling someone about a goal we want to achieve as when we actually achieve it. So sharing goals with others can prematurely give us a feeling of accomplishment and decreases our motivation to actually work toward the goal.

I’m no behavioral expert, but I’m dubious nonetheless. 

Work on Messaging

Do people give up on their goals after announcing them publicly? Absolutely. If we took a poll of publicly declared New Year’s resolutions and followed up to see how they went, I’m sure the statistics are low. But this is a cliché ritual at this point. We are all happy to give a wink and nod to our New Year’s resolutions. No one is the least bit surprised when we don’t do what we said we would.

Consider some differently worded examples of public accountability:

• ”I’m going to make 50 cutting boards for the school fundraiser in the fall.”
• ”I’ve signed up for the Boston Marathon this year.”
• ”I’m going to write a weekly blog about accountability techniques until I hit 100 posts.”

These are structured differently than “I’m going to lose weight this year.” They are more specific. We’re stating an attainable goal and setting an expectation that we will deliver on our promise. That kind of public accountability, in my mind, has much more potency, and gives us mental leverage to accomplish what we would like.

Consider the Psychology of the Individual

Another problem with generalizing that public accountability is detrimental: it doesn’t take personality types into consideration. All sorts of mental reactions can happen once you announce your goals to others:

• Some people may feel embarrassed and under-prepared to really take on the goal.
• Some people’s embarrassment over a public announcement may stop them from seeking help with their project or an accountability buddy to work with them. “I said I would do it. I have to do it on my own.”
• Some people may feel that everyone is gossiping behind their back and waiting for them to fail. Whenever they think about their goal, they feel the judgment of others.
• Some people may feel that their project will inspire others to achieve goals of their own.
• Some people may feel that everyone they’ve told is enrolled in their success and is supporting them.
• Some people may feel that everyone doubts they will do it, but they use it as fuel to motivate them to work to prove everyone wrong.

Those are just a few possible reactions. Humans are delightfully diverse in how we can react to exactly the same situation. While a study may say that in general it is demotivating to share your goals, I think we need to consider our own personality and how we have reacted in the past to public declarations.

Extroverted and outgoing people may be naturally inclined to public accountability because they can live their lives as an open book. That doesn’t mean public accountability is a bad idea for introverts and shy people. Those who are naturally private may find that a large fear of embarrassment makes public accountability a powerful technique — if we can handle the pressure we create for ourselves.

Pros and Cons

Public accountability naturally has pros and cons that we should consider before stepping up on our soapbox and shouting in the marketplace.

Plusses

• Stating a goal publicly, for some of us, moves it out of our heads and into the real world. 
• Fear of embarrassment compels us to move forward.
• Public accountability can feel like having all of your friends cheering you on. (If this is your typical mindset regarding those around you.)

Minusses

• We’ll be asked about our project — a lot … by everyone. We have to be prepared for that.
• Public accountability can feel like negative pressure, if we typically assume that others judge us. We may feel that after our announcement, everyone we know is waiting for us to fail. 

Consider the Goal Itself

Even the type of goal that we have in mind can give us some indication of whether it lends itself to public accountability. Some goals are better accomplished behind closed doors and with as few witnesses as possible. Goals with clear and measurable metrics like daily practice or daily progress can be more easily shared.

Personally, I find creative projects to be ill-suited for public accountability. They shift, change, burst forward, and backtrack. One could report daily hours worked, but the public we’re being accountable to likely will be interested in progress. People will ask about our goal just because it’s “something to talk about.” If we put it in the public sphere, our friends and acquaintances will feel it’s fair game to discuss, whether we had a good day or a bad day.

Avoid Accountability Fads

The online discussions about public accountability strike me as similar to fad diets. People divide up into different camps and claim that their camp is correct. Just like fad diets work for some people but not for others, public accountability techniques are not for everyone. Consider your personality type, your goal, and what accountability technique is best suited to you and your situation.

What’s Your Account?

The best gauge is your own history, and knowing yourself. Have you tried public accountability before? What were your results? Did you feel like public accountability was a positive or negative motivator?