Mike
The Power of Peer Accountability
Several weeks ago, David Brooks wrote an interesting editorial entitled, “The Welfare State is Broken. Here’s How to Fix It.” The editorial draws on the book, Radical Help, by British social entrepreneur Hilary Cottam. Brooks said a number of things that struck me as important, but one sentence stood out: “People tend to have better outcomes when they are held accountable by a network of peers.”
Brooks was writing specifically about people who are living on the margins and who are being “helped” in some way by governmental agencies. But his statement about outcomes is applicable on a much broader scale.
When you think about the church or ministry or non-profit that you lead, what outcomes are you hoping to see? For example, “Our desired outcome is …”
- For every person in our church to grow spiritually and become more like Jesus.
- For every person in our church to use their God-given talents in ways that change the world for the better.
- For every child and teen that is connected to our church to love God and be committed to continuing their faith journey when they graduate from high school.
- For each person that we serve to have stable, meaningful employment.
Is Brooks’ statement about accountability in a network of peers applicable as you think about your desired outcomes?
It’s hard for me to imagine that meaningful peer accountability wouldn’t significantly improve any of these outcomes. And yet, we often invest nominal effort in creating the expectations, culture, and systems that will foster that kind of community. Sure, we might encourage people to be in a small group, but do we devote the time and energy that says, “This is the most important thing we do”? When evaluating groups, do we set a high bar of success based on intended outcomes, or do we just focus on attendance?
I know that this kind of work is hard and messy and that peer accountability can be elusive. But if it’s the best way to achieve the outcomes that matter, shouldn’t it be a priority?
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