Let’s be honest: We all want to achieve success. For ourselves, for the people closest to us, for our team and for our companies.
The problem is that we often lack the vision to know what to do next to stay on the path.
Or we just don’t know what we should do next.
Would you rather fail fast and learn, or play it safe and stay stagnant?
This pressure to find the right way to act is multiplicative exponentially when you are the leader or manager of a group.
You do not only hold your faith in your hands but the future of so many others.
A good starting point to build a strong team that will achieve success is starting by being accountable for your actions.
Yours for sure… but also creating an environment where all your team members know:
- What is expected of them?
- What are the objectives when aim for?
- What will happen if we do not reach our goals?
- Who can help them if they struggle?
- What are the proper communication channels?
I could continue the list, but you get the point.
Setting the expectations is the first step.
Employees need to understand that they are key pieces of the team and that everyone actions and roles are important for the team to achieve success.
This brings me back to one of my first night as a production supervisor on the night shift.
We had issues with an equipment on a production line that prevented us from completing a work order.
After 30 minutes of work, my team come see me and say:
There is nothing we can do; we will have to wait for the day shift to solve this issue.
I remembered then, all the morning I was upset coming to work when my projects, running during the night shifts, were delayed because of technical problems that the night shifts could not fix.
So, I told myself: Not on my watch.
I gathered the team and told everyone present that we will spend all night, if necessary, but we will find a solution together. I wanted them to log everything they tried to keep track.
Then, one of my senior mechanics, in front of everybody, insulted another employee because he couldn’t figure it out.
This gave the perfect opportunity to set the standard of the proper behavior I wanted in my team. I pulled him away and told him that these kinds of remarks will not be tolerated within my team.
Although, the rest of the group did not hear our conversation, they saw that I acted rapidly. This is how to set the tone. Action – Reaction – Culture Change.
What about the problem?
Where we able to solve it?
Yes, we did.
Correction.
Yes, THEY did.
It took several hours but they figured it out.
I was proud of them. Really proud.
Everything depends on your perception
The next morning, I explained the situation to my boss and the fact that we found a solution that prevented us from wasting the whole batch.
We yielded about 25%.
And here is the feedback I received:
The higher management did not understand that I was happy with the result because we scrapped 75% of the batch.
Yes, I agree…
But if we had done things the same way as it was normally the case, meaning waiting for the day shift to solve our issues, we would have wasted 100% of the batch.
Why do I talk to you today about this story?
Because there are two ways to look at it:
- From the perspective that we wasted hours to yield only 25% while not having these employees helping on other production lines, adding other lost of productivity.
- Or see it the way I saw it. WE LEARNED AND GREW
Lessons learned
What were the lessons learned from that night?
- Waiting for others to solve our problems is not an option
- We need to learn from our setbacks, so they are not repeated
- We need to work together to find solutions
- Respect is the basis of every interaction within our team
- A partial victory is better than a total loss.
- We have the skills and knowledge within the team to tackle any situation. If we don’t, we ask questions to have this knowledge transferred to the team.
From these learnings also came the first step in changing the culture of the team.
Employees knew that I expected them to work as a team to find solution to our problem
Ownership of the results
Employees knew what was expected of their behavior within the team and what would happen if this was not respected
Accountability for their behavior
They knew what we wanted to achieve and how we wanted to achieve it.
A good starting point, would you say?
And this is what needs to be taken from this story.
Investing time to create a culture of accountability will affect other part of the business and maybe you will need to take one step back of two.
But, long term, it will allow you to go so much further with your team.
Too many managers and companies only see the short gain and do not understand the power of investing time with their employees to help them grow and help you achieve your goals. Not only with their hands and legs but with their brains, their experience and the willingness to innovate and improve present processes.
Together.
Accountability isn’t just about fixing problems, it’s about empowering your team to prevent them in the first place.
Discover the 5 Must-Ask Questions for Happy Teams
Do you want to better understand what motivates your team members and could help you create a happy team? My practical guide, 5 Must-Ask Questions for Happy Teams, is designed to provide you with simple and effective tools to:
- Create a climate of trust within your team
- Identify the true needs and aspirations of your employees
- Encourage meaningful conversations that foster collaboration
- Boost engagement and collective performance
- Anticipate and resolve challenges before they become obstacles
Carl-Michael Tessier M. Sc., MBA
Coach in high-performance team development and tailor-made support
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