Recently I've incorporated a weekly accountability email into my coaching service to help clients keep their momentum going in between sessions. I send it out every Monday morning.
While the coaching sessions are designed to help clients get clarity and get unstuck, the real work happens in between sessions. That is when they have to go out in the world and actually do what they said they were going to do.
Of course, this is when clients will fall back on old ways of thinking and behaving. Their fears come up and their old ways of avoidance and procrastination come up. In order to break this cycle and get them to behave differently, I send them this gentle reminder to stay focused on their goals and to ask for help if they feel stuck. I also include myself in this process and share my goals and challenges.
Read my weekly email below.
My Weekly Email To Clients
"Hi friends!
How are you doing?
This is a check-in/accountability email I'm sending to all clients in between sessions to keep the momentum going.
I wanted to check in to hear how things are going for you since our last call.
Please tell me:
1. What is your number one goal this week and when will it be done by?
2. What are you struggling with and what will you do to address this? Also, how can I support you?
3. Optional, feel free to share any wins, lessons learned, and/or questions you have.
I'll go first!
1. Goal: This week my number one goal is to transcribe an interview I did with the general counsel of a large beverage brand in LA. We had a great conversation about how she moved from a big law firm to an in-house job and her advice for getting promoted into the GC role. My goal is to turn the interview into a blog post. This will be great content marketing for my services and will build credibility with my audience.
2. Challenge: My challenge has been carving out the time to actually sit and write the blog post. This week I've already blocked off two hours this morning to get the writing done.
3. Win: My win for last week was following up with three people I recently met at a conference to schedule time to meet with them in the new year to discuss how I can help them. I've got three lunches scheduled in January!
Why This Works
Share Your Struggles To Find Your Breakthroughs
Here is why I do this, after years of coaching clients, I've learned that the real breakthroughs happen when we are open and honest about our struggles. It is only by sharing what keeps us stuck, that we can get unstuck. When we keep our struggles to ourselves we fall into patterns of avoidance and procrastination while at the same time beating ourselves up for not taking action.
Public Accountability Keeps You Honest
In addition, public accountability is one of the most effective ways to get sh!t done. When you have a community of people supporting you and pushing you to win, it makes you want to show up even on days you don't feel like it. And let's be honest, this also plays on our fear of looking bad in front of others. If you said you are going to get something done and you don't, you are likely to experience guilt and shame. These are powerful emotions that we can use to our benefit in order to get things done and stop procrastinating.
In contrast, most people make the mistake of staying stuck by keeping their challenges to themselves and they don't ask for help or they continue to repeat habits that don't serve them any longer but expect to get new results.
If you aren't behaving differently during our time together then you won't get different results. It will just be more of the same.
So please share and let's keep the momentum going.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Best,
Mo"
How Can This Help You
This is a simple and effective tool you can use in your own life. Find a group of friends who are also chasing big goals in their lives. It could be career, finance, or fitness related. Commit to supporting each other for a specific period of time, 30, 60, 90 days, etc. And watch how much you can get done with the power of an accountability group and email!
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CALL TO ACTION
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If you are interested in working with me to create a more fulfilling career then schedule a free consultation at MGC Coaching.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mo Chanmugham, Esq., CPCC, ACC is a former entertainment lawyer turned executive career coach and the founder of MGC Coaching. He helps ambitious professionals who are feeling stuck gain the clarity and confidence they need to create more fulfilling careers.