I’ve heard the above saying quite a few times and believe it hits the nail on the head when it comes to self-accountability. When I was on my drive home last week, I was listening to Robin Sharma (Leadership Expert) talk about what this means to him and it really resonated with me. 

He explained that it’s all about how you show up on a day to day basis and especially when no one is watching.  He used going to the gym as an example by saying if being in peak physical health is one of your goals or core values, are you training like Lance Armstrong every time you hit the gym? How about when you are the only one in the gym at 5 a.m. and didn’t get the best sleep the night before? 

It got me thinking about other situations where you can ‘show up’… What about when you are given a routine task at work, are you drawing it out all day, or are you burning through it with meticulous detail so that you can get on to the next exciting project? When you are in a brainstorming meeting are you piping up and leading the charge, asking questions, encouraging others (that are perhaps more introverted) to speak up and give their input, are you clarifying assumptions, challenging ideas and intiating next steps and actions? When you’re calling a prospective client or a friend to ask a favor are you geninely interested in how they are doing, what’s going on in their life, and how you can help them? When you sit down to have a conversation with someone, are you consistantly checking your phone for missed calls, text’s, or emails? or are you giving that person your undivided attention for that period of time and seeking to learn something new about them or a way you can help them? When you’re referring someone to another person, are you simply passing along their contact information or are you raving about how amazing they are?

Those that coast through their morning workout or don’t go because they are tired are the same people that draw out routine tasks just to look ‘busy’, are the same people who sit in the back of the meeting room and watch the clock, are the same people who only ask for favors, are the same people who only build surface level relationships, are the same people who only pass along numbers.

My point is that getting clear on how you want to ‘show up’ is key to holding yourself accountable to it day in and day out. So how do you make sure that you show up?

First step is to decide what your goals and core values are, as these will drive your decisions and behaviors, and the second step is to stick to them like glue. Don’t settle for second best. For example, if peak health is a core values of yours, then choose to show up at the gym and give it 200% everytime.  If quality relationships is a core value of yours, seek to give before you take always. If reading and learning about business is one of your core values, run (especially if peak health is one of our core values) to your nearest chapters and set up camp in the Indigo MBA section every sunday afternoon until you’ve read all of the best business books there are.

It’s all about choice and accountability so choose to be brilliant and hold yourself accoutable to giving 200% in every little thing that you do, especially when no one is watching, because how you do one thing is how you do everything.

I’ll give you a silly (but key) personal example: When it comes to my teeth, those puppies are flossed, brushed until there isn’t any plague left and then mouth washed for 1 minute every single night, period.

So how do you show up or have seen others show up? I’d love to hear your comments…

Till next time…