OH! Magazine - Australian Version May 2017 | Page 10

( MEN’S HEALTH )
ACCOUNTABILITY
MIKE
CAMPBELL
Mike Campbell explains the importance of asking for
and providing support, help and challenges.
ver the years as a coach – in fact,
as a human doing my best to get
through life’s various challenges – there’s
one thing that has been present
throughout. And not just present, but
responsible for a vast majority of the
successes I’ve personally witnessed and
experienced. Be it in the gym, the kitchen
and dining room table, to anything health,
wealth
and
relationship
mastery,
accountability has been at the core.
O
Accountability has been an integral part of
my own life over the last six years, both in
my business and personal life. The first
time I purposefully entered into such a
relationship was about five years ago, and
it was with a complete stranger, as part of
a business program that we’d both joined.
Years later, and today we are still great
friends (largely due to the ongoing support
we’ve provided for each other). We still
stay in touch regularly, and specifically in
an accountability dynamic, where we
share what’s going on – the wins,
challenges, intentions, and the actions.
So what is accountability, and how do you
use it?
Accountability is all about challenging
people around what they say they’ll do.
Accountability
partnerships
are
relationships where both parties are
working towards some sort of growth or
progress, and willingly ask to be held to
account for their intentions and actions.
It’s a space for mutual support, challenge,
and camaraderie.
The thing is, it’s quite simple. However, as
men we often feel the pressure to appear
‘stoic’; like we should be able to sort
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OH! MAGAZINE ( MAY 2017 )
everything out ourselves, and not show
weakness or ask for help. It’s a facade we
take on and wear like a suit of armour,
constantly thinking every other guy has his
life sorted, and we must be the only one
struggling. But all that does is reinforce
the above. The result is that we see
something like ‘I mustn’t ask for help;
what will people think of me?’ Or ‘I must
be the provider; I must be strong, resilient,
etc etc etc...’ – we are sometimes so afraid
of judgement that we’d rather suffer in
silence. Urgh, it’s exhausting, isn’t it? Accountability has been an integral part of
my coaching programs, and none more so
than in my current group program called
The School of Personal Mastery. Here, I
pair and group men to communicate,
share, which is just the beginning...
The result is, you don’t ask for support.
You keep your problems and challenges to
yourself, and you remain in the comparison
mindset. But, I can promise you, as soon
as you enter a space of support and non-
judgement, something changes. Actually,
everything changes; you realise you’re not
alone, and other guys are doing their best
and have similar struggles to yours. The result is reflection and progress. It
serves to lighten the load we men take on,
and realise that we get to do life both on
our own, and with a team. Leaning on one
another is the way forward. However, it
doesn’t mean you can’t be self-sufficient,
too; in fact, using accountability will
increase your personal competence, which
leads to even more confidence.
Two of the most powerful words that any
man can hear or think are: ‘Me too.’ As
soon as these words enter the picture, it’s
a whole new ballgame – life truly begins.
These words can set you free, by giving
yourself permission to let go of all the
effort required to appear unbreakable; to
release the pressure of trying to be a
faultless hero, and to allow you to actually
open up and be seen and heard. If you
want to go fast, go alone. But if you want
to go far, go together. If you desire to make some sort of change,
progress or improvement in any area of
your life, and you’re not utilising an
accountability relationship with someone,
then find a peer and start today. A friend,
colleague, a meet up group – someone you
can talk to about the journey you’re on;
someone who can hold you to account,
provide support, and honestly call you out
when required.
From here, well, the world truly opens up.
You can utilise the strengths, capabilities,
resources and support of others. You start
to build a team around yourself, and it
works; because, as you know, it takes a
village...
It’s all about bringing men together and
providing space for them to share with
each other; to ask for and provide support;
to hold one another to account, and to
challenge them in both constructive and
positive ways.
YOU CAN CONTACT MIKE VIA:
Web: mikecampbell.com.au
Facebook: mikecampbellmancoach
Twitter: @mikecampbellmc
Instagram: @mikecampbellmc