Accountability is as really strong word, especially when we place it squarely on our own shoulders. To be accountable for something, anything, means to own it regardless of outcome. Dysfunctional teams have a collective avoidance of accountability because some or all members of the team don’t want to own any of the problems or challenges of that team. The ultimate breakdown occurs when the very folks who don’t want to be held accountable for failure do want to be accountable for success. Most of us have been on a team where this is common actions among members. One or two people always want to be able to shift blame or claim no involvement when things are going badly but suddenly appear wearing big smiles and shaking hands when it’s time to accept congratulations. These kind of people are not good members of any team. Even more unfortunate is that these folks usually have numerous strengths that the team could value, but they choose to take the avoidance route for whatever reason. In education, we don’t often get to pick our teams. We are simply placed among them in our department or PLC. So, how do we fix the avoidance issue?
Start with naming to the group where accountability begins and ends. The whole point of a team is that the group works together to achieve a common task or goal. A single person cannot be held accountable for success or failure of the team but they can be held accountable for heading up or coordinating a portion of the team’s activities. Once that responsibility is determined, then it becomes that person’s job to ask for help when needed and coordinate that help. After assistants have been named and given responsibility, it becomes very difficult for anyone to hide from those duties. In fact, those folks will either step up and do their job or they will disappear because they don’t want personal accountability to the group. Either way, the team wins. If the member stays, they will begin to use those strengths to their advantage and incorporate themselves into the team much better. The only caveat here is that the team leader needs to be very careful to pay attention to the goings on of the team and make sure that the team member(s) in question are not set up to fail by being held accountable for items outside their control or wheel house. Play to the team member’s strengths rather than weaknesses.
Next, require updated reports of progress on a regular basis. The reports should be made to the entire team so if additional help is needed in certain areas, other group members will be available to offer support. Set and communicate deadlines as a team. Thinking in terms of accountability, this holds everyone accountable to a schedule and not just each other. The schedule should remain as flexible as possible in order to overcome larger obstacles that may arise. However, we perform better when we know all the information and expectations. Now the team member in question has the opportunity to correct the behavior while understanding all the nuances of the problem. If the member chooses to remain in the state of avoidance, then it may be time for a change in membership.
