Relationships

Workplace Relationships

August 05, 2005

Essay # 2 Responding to Case 3.3 Establishing Peer Accountability Is Not Easy

1. As a part of a team or addressing the issue in this particular case, I am going to express my views and feeling about peer accountability.

Answer: One of the biggest challenges and sources of frustration for both

supervisor's and co-workers is the area of team accountability and discipline.

Getting a group of individuals with various goals to abide by a common set of

standards and rules can be one of the toughest tasks for teams to tackle. While

most team mates may pledge their commitment in their words, it is another

thing to show it in their actions; often what is said is the opposite of what is

actually done. Teams that have trouble "walking the talk" have a difficult time

reaching their full potential. Without accountability or discipline, the team

sabotages itself due to jealousies, resentments, and conflicts. A sort of

selfishness arises with the team. However when teammates are accountable to

each other something magical happens within your team. Your team members

begin to respect and trust each other. The bond based on mutual respect and

trust is a key to helping your team realize its full potential. Creating and

maintaining this type of chemistry is one of the most challenging and important

roles of the group.

So in that being said I feel with experienced there are four (4) areas

that will guide team members into making the choices and decisions that will

give you the best possible chance of being successful. Without these four levels

solidly in place, you are likely to suffer many of the frustrations previously

mentioned.

* Level 1 Ð'- Personal Responsibility: This means that the team member

should understand and abide by the team standards because he/she believes in

their value or worth to the success of the team. The team member agrees with

and accepts the standards necessary to reach the goals. He/she follows the

rules because they desire or want to. Level 2 Ð'- Team Accountability: I feel that

when an individual part of a team is allowed to participate in setting the team

rules they also begin to see how their behavior impacts the rest of the team. Not

only do they value and abide by the rules individually, they also understand that

the entire team values and benefits from them. They begin to feel a sense of

connection and accountability to the team as well. Breaking the rules of

lowering the standards not only hurts themselves, but hurts the entire team.

Level 3 Ð'- Teammates Care Enough to Confront: Perhaps the most telling sign

of a successful team is when the members of that team care enough about the

team's success that they will take responsibility to constructively confront their

teammates who are not abiding by the rules. And finally I feel which brings me

to Level 4 Ð'- Supervisor or Manager Confronts: The final level of team

accountability and discipline involves the supervisor. Typically at least once

each performance review or appraisal supervisor's need to sit down with a team

member