Creating networks of accountability toward greatness
After many years of lackluster results for American Marathoners, the Hanson brothers from Michigan wanted to change the success of American runners in international competition. The brothers leveraged the financial resources generated by their running store to house and train long-distance runners who dreamed of Olympic glory. They recruited unknown runners who did not get paid by a significant shoe brand and had them live, work and train together. They successfully trained runners to qualify for the Olympics and trained the first American female winner to win the Boston Marathon in over 30 years. Their secret, which they learned from running programs in Japan and Kenya, was leveraging peer accountability. Racing a marathon is a mental feat as much as a physical one. It helps to understand yourself deeply and find peers to train with to find your limits to hit your fastest time. To push runners to those limits when training, the brothers learned that runners need more than a coach yelling at them. Runners required a social circle of fellow runners to who they felt accountable in training hard together.
I've engaged with 100+ entrepreneurship programs, everyone searching for the path of how to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurs. We know from GALI Research that entrepreneurship training programs and workshops are not as impactful as we hoped. According to GALI, networking and connections are what have been essential to company growth.
So I started studying other programs to push people beyond their mental boundaries, like the Hansen brothers. And one common thing I have found is successful entrepreneurs' programs have created accountability through their social networks. The networks are varied, cohorts and peer activities, mentoring, Entrepreneur in Residence, and executive coaching. The tricky part is developing relationships of trust and respect. Understanding the art of building trust and social circles of accountability takes real insight.
Entrepreneurship Support Organizations (ESO) need to think about coaching, peer support, mentoring activities, and design programs that create an accountable relationship of trust. This Mowgli Mentoring podcast provides several insights on how to do that.
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