Six Characteristics of Highly Functional & Accountable Teams
How do you get everyone accountable to EACH OTHER and the CUSTOMER, and not focused on their MANAGER?
Accountable people will Reassess, Re-strategize and do something different to get the desired results!
Each team/company needs to go through the following process:
1. Have a clear and accepted purpose:
a. What is the goal/vision for 2022? Can it be defined? Does everyone know what the goal is?
2. You must have measurements that tell the team if their purpose/goal/vision is being achieved or not:
a. Can the team see if they winning or losing? Are you tracking the right metrics? Do you have a scorecard?
3. You must have competent people and capable processes:
a. What does your Playbook look like for Sales, Operations, & Finance? Do you have the best team in place? Are you focused on hiring staff members that align with your Core Values and Purpose? Are you giving anyone a “free pass” and not dealing with the “elephant in the room”?
4. You must have a high degree of shared fate – All win or all lose!! (too often managers and owners are treated better than the field staff)
a. Everyone must experience the same fate – otherwise people worry about
themselves (create silos)
b. It’s the engine the drives accountable teams
c. The whole team must feel the pain
d. We finish together, not alone
e. Compensation is the weakest and least effective
5. You must deal with your real issues together – an issue or behaviour that affects the team’s ability to achieve its goals/purpose. What do you do?
a. Do nothing/ignore it/avoid/hope? BAD
b. Talk behind their back/complain? BAD
c. Go to HR/Boss? BAD
d. One on One Confrontation? GOOD
e. Group Confrontation? GOOD
NOTE:
1. “a – c “are most destructive, but happens 90-95% of the time.
2. “b” produces “Pairing” – causes the team to fracture and destroys trust.
Pairing must not be tolerated.
3. “d” – One to One – very effective!
4. “e” – Group Confrontation – gather the data, use Crucial Conversations, Mutual
Purpose!
Must establish a base level of Trust when dealing with real issues – do people trust your intent?
a. Have a Team with a “Bring it on” Attitude
b. A team that is Accountable to each other
c. Everyone must speak on their own behalf in all meeting, use the
word “I” – no more “We”, “they” or “our”
1. If someone in the meeting uses a group pronoun, stop, and ask
“Who is we, or they, or ours?”
If you are looking to create functional and accountable teams, we can help. Contact Nathan at Southbrook Consulting.
