What Is An Accountability Coach And Is It Really Worth It To Hire One?

So you’ve decided to go after a big dream of yours. Maybe getting your health into shape or starting that new business. You’re all pumped up to make it happen — at first.

But after a few weeks, your motivation starts to wither, life gets in the way, and that big dream seems to slip further. You find yourself procrastinating, and you wonder if you should just give it up already.

Unless…

An accountability coach can help you regain momentum and motivation when you feel stuck. They use effective coaching frameworks to get you back on track and help you reach the finish line, no matter what goal you’re pursuing.

In this article, we’ll go through:

  • What an accountability coach is.
  • The benefits of working with one.
  • The types of accountability coaches you can find.
  • How much they charge.
  • And where you can find the perfect one for you.

What Is An Accountability Coach?

In a nutshell, the job of an accountability coach is to help you reach your goals. Of course, they won’t be the ones doing the work for you, but they will give you the guidance, encouragement, and clarity you need to make it happen yourself.

What It Looks Like to Work With an Accountability Coach

First, they show you how to separate your inner motivations from outer expectations that come from people in your life or society as a whole. This is important to find the real, genuine motives behind your intentions instead of trying to live up to external pressure or seek validation.

Next, they help you define crystal clear goals for yourself that are attainable, measurable and aligned with other areas of your life or business. Working with an accountability coach can help you expand smaller targets into full-blown visions or major goals for yourself.

Once you gain clarity on your main objective, they will help you find the right strategies to get you there. They use accountability frameworks to measure your progress, as well as to identify and overcome roadblocks on the way.

Personal VS Group Coaching

You can work with an accountability coach in a 1-on-1 setting or join an accountability group. Seeing other people’s progress in similar areas of life can give you an extra boost of motivation while getting personalized guidance from your coach on your individual progress.

What Can Accountability Coaching Be Used For?

While the process of accountability coaching may sound very business-y, it can be applied to technically any area of your life. Say, you’re looking for a romantic partner. Instead of waiting for them to show up at your door, you can work with an accountability coach to:

  • Gain clarity on your ideal relationship.
  • Describe the qualities of the person you’re looking for.
  • Describe the qualities you need to embody to be in this relationship.
  • Identify the right strategies to meet people who fit your criteria (like joining circles with similar interests or changing to a higher quality matchmaking service).
  • Keep up your momentum and put continuous energy into this area of your life.
  • And adjust your goals as you gain new insights during this process.

The Biggest Benefits Of Accountability Coaching

As you start working with an accountability coach, you’ll notice internal and external changes in your life. As coaches often say, your inner world creates your outer world.

Internal changes might show up as:

  • Decreased levels of stress and anxiety.
  • Better work-life balance and well-being in general.
  • Feeling more inspired to pursue your goals rather than pushing yourself to take action.
  • Feeling more confident and having a better knowledge of yourself.

These changes will also reflect in your life externally by…

  • Helping you perform better
  • Achieve higher targets
  • Manage your time better
  • Develop new skills

…and achieving long-lasting lifestyle changes.

Although our goals often revolve around a particular achievement we want in our lives, doing the inner work is equally important. A great accountability coach can help you succeed in both.

Types Of Accountability Coaches

Health & Wellness Coaches

Health coaches focus on improving and keeping your overall well-being in check. They are not medical professionals, but they might occasionally recommend certain medical tests or check-ups if they see the need. They help you set clear targets for your health, such as acquiring a new habit or improving a particular health marker.

Accountability coaches who specialize in this area will structure an exercise and diet plan for you or define certain daily habits you need to follow to reach your goals. They can help you stay consistent with a new health regime or give up unhealthy habits that may hinder your progress. A wellness coach isn’t necessarily a personal trainer or nutritionist, but some do have those added qualifications.

Career Coaches

Career coaches help you set clear goals for your professional life so you can advance in your current career or switch to a new one that suits you better. They use coaching frameworks to map out what your best skills and abilities are, your personal preferences when it comes to work, and how you can best contribute to the success of a team or your own business.

They assess whether the career you’re in is the best match for your personality traits and preferences and help you identify certain career paths to choose from. If you’re already in the right field, they help you set clear goals for your future and keep you accountable in your process of pursuing them. A career coach can be a great investment to improve your performance and, in turn, negotiate higher pay in the future.

Business & Executive Coaches

Business and executive coaches help entrepreneurs and senior leaders navigate the businesses they run. Whether they’re responsible for a small, local business or hundreds of employees, these leadership positions require them to manage a high level of complexity and a constant need to prioritize between different initiatives.

An accountability coach can help leaders and entrepreneurs define goals and targets not just for the business but for themselves as well. They help executives manage their time better and break down long-term initiatives into monthly, weekly, and daily objectives and key performance indicators.

Mastermind Group Facilitators

Peer-to-peer learning and a shared experience of personal growth can give a huge boost of motivation and energy to mastermind group participants. An accountability coach can help run these meetings and check in on the progress of each individual.

Mastermind group facilitators often bring coaching questions to the sessions in order to make them more impactful. They may assign certain tasks to attendees to complete between the sessions or ask them to share check-ins in a group forum where everyone can see them.

Holistic Life Coaches

A holistic life coach can either work with you on a particular area of your life or help bring the different facets of it in better balance. They use assessments to depict what your ideal future looks like, how you’re currently leading your life, and identify the gaps in between. They turn problem areas into aspirational and measurable goals and help you develop practical strategies to achieve them.

Life coaches can also help define morning and evening routines or personal habits for their clients, and keep them accountable to follow them consistently. Reviewing your personal development goals in all parts of your life with a coach can help you reduce your overall levels of anxiety, live a more well-rounded life, and achieve more from your personal aspirations.

[ Read: Here’s Your Answer to the Burning Question “What Is a Life Coach”? ]

What Does An Accountability Coach Cost?

Fees may greatly vary from professional to professional, but the average cost of an hourly session with an accountability coach is between $90-$150. However, since accountability is a long game, you rarely just have one session with your coach. For your progress to be consistent, it’s worth investing in this relationship for at least a couple of months.

[ Read: Here’s Why Insurance Won’t Cover Your Life Coaching Sessions (and What Is Covered Instead) ]

Some coaches charge $400 per month as a flat fee, while others cost several thousands of dollars to work with one-on-one. Joining an accountability group usually costs less but you may also get less personalized attention from your coach.

The packages accountability coaches offer may also be very different from each other. Some are available for your call anytime between the sessions, and others answer your questions via voice chat support. Session length can also vary between 50 to 90 minutes on average.

When you compare costs, keep in mind that you’re not just paying your coach for an hour of conversation. Coaches often spend more time preparing for their sessions than actually leading them. They frequently research, collect new resources, and update their frameworks to maximize the impact they can deliver to their clients.

How To Find An Accountability Coach?

Whether it’s your first time looking for a coach or you’ve done this before, it’s important that you put your trust in someone that you vibe with on all levels. CompareCoach is a free directory of coaches where you can find professionals in all specializations. These vetted coach profiles share detailed information about each coach and the services they offer to help you make the right decision.

We’ve been blown away by the diverse specialties of the coaches in this directory, so you can get really specific with your search keywords. Clicking on the tags below each profile will also help you find more coaches in that particular niche.

Try CompareCoach now and find the perfect accountability coach and more. 

What is an Accountability Coach?