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Taking ownership and responsibility

Without engagement we can come up with great plans together, but they will never automatically lead to the right Mindset. In order to 'consciously give direction to the desired behaviour', it is necessary that you know what determines the behaviour.
Door: Stanley Marquis op 11 August 2021.
Read in: 4 minutes.

It's been a while since I've shared my experiences. In the blog below I reflect on the fourth level of the Pyramid of Lencionia. As an organizational change agent you are not faced with the daily challenge of what the impact of the lack of responsibility really means. Nevertheless, it affects every team in the growth to really nice results. Due to a lack of low standards or less involvement in the collaboration, people will take less and less responsibility, which puts pressure on the connection between team members and the results of the team as a whole. Personally, I prefer the term engagement between the team members. I also give a number of tips on how to stimulate ownership and responsibility.

It's been a while since I've shared my experiences. In the blog below I reflect on the fourth level of the Pyramid of Lencionia. As an organizational change agent you are not faced with the daily challenge of what the impact of the lack of responsibility really means. Nevertheless, it affects every team in the growth to really nice results. Due to a lack of low standards or less involvement in the collaboration, people will take less and less responsibility, which puts pressure on the connection between team members and the results of the team as a whole. Personally, I prefer the term engagement between the team members. I also give a number of tips on how to stimulate ownership and responsibility.

YOWYO! mindset

Without engagement we can come up with great plans together, but they will never automatically lead to the right Mindset. In order to 'consciously give direction to the desired behaviour', it is necessary that you know what determines the behaviour. That is why it is important that as a team member you also gain insight into your own personal behavior within the group and that of your other fellow team members.

In my teams I like to talk to each other continuously. Depending on the status of the team, I give priority to the group conversations or the 'one-on-one' conversations with the team members. I think it is important to determine together which Mindset fits best within the team (in terms of collaboration) and with that the goals set. Within my organization (Lagant Agile Business Builders) we recognize three phases in Mindset development in the field of responsibility/ownership. We call the highest level the YowYo mindset. Within my teams I want every team member to show and feel a certain degree of involvement. This also shows partial responsibility. It is not only about identifying possible issues, but also taking ownership. Namely solving the problems. As a team member you ensure that the issue is brought to the attention and is also solved by you or by the right person within the organization.

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Guiding behavior

With good communication with your family, friends or colleagues, it is also decisive in dealing that there is one's own responsibility for having a good relationship. Everyone has their own communication patterns and can sometimes get stuck in them. Then it is good to not only work on your skills, but also to become aware of the process behind it. Engagement arises when working from the values ​​and goals of the organization is combined with personal and team ambitions (talents, motivations, focus). Contributing to the results of the organization from intrinsic motivation is most powerful when taking your share of responsibility in the team. I usually use the iceberg model. This symbolizes an iceberg with a small tip and the largest part below the waterline. Behavior is visible above the waterline, but a large part of the behavior is not immediately visible. In collaboration, knowledge, skills and behavioral characteristics are often sent below the waterline. Below the waterline you have to deal with self-image, principles, motivation, personal motives, values ​​and norms. Most of our behavior is not immediately visible. Focus and transparency and trust are needed in directing the new behaviour. I believe that we should not only talk about developing the right Mindset and personal motivations, but also about the right values ​​and norms. The latter properties below the waterline are difficult to change and largely determine how much energy it takes to influence and further develop behaviour. In fact, the deeper I penetrate the iceberg, the more lasting the changes in the people in a team and therefore the desired behavior will show. Ultimately, we must follow a route together that leads to exposure of the bottom of the iceberg.

Responsibility

How does a team ensure that all members take their own responsibility, when necessary? In other words, how can we prevent this frustration from manifesting? The enemy of responsibility is ambiguity and lack of standards. Pays attention to making, executing team plans and the agreed behavior. That makes it impossible to keep ignoring them repeatedly. Really keep talking to each other. Stop the trend, talk about each other.

Tips

  1. Plan a series of short structured progress meetings in the team or also one on one. Experiences within the teams or organizations show the same again and again, namely, as a change agent or team leader, set a good example yourself.
  2. Let the team experience what you, as a coach/team leader, see as ownership.
  3. Create a form in the collaboration where giving feedback is easily accessible.
  4. Ask for feedback and also give feedback if it rubs off and create structure. Team members learn to help each other by consulting together more often or by determining for themselves who needs what in order to achieve the objectives and generate the right measures. The team determines how value is added.

Closing comments

Team members can be so focused and driven in their work, but if they do not stand together (moving from me to we) behind the agreed plan. Or do not dare to speak out about an undesirable situation and this will lead to harmful behavior and damage the team interest. Self-responsibility is a great asset! In a team where this is done in an efficient or consistent manner, there are more likely to be; a lot of trust, little resentment between team members, no mediocrity, meeting deadlines and leaning (less) on the team leader or manager.

I cordially invite you to respond or share my post with others in your own network. I also give workshops on leadership and team performance.

Look up https://agilebusinessbuilders.nl/ for more information or contact me personally at [email protected].

By Stanley Markiet

My passion and talent lies in the field of innovation, connection and anchoring. I think it's great to hold up 'the' mirror at all layers within the organization. It comes down to applying a combination of (tried) intuition, experience, the hard and soft side of organizational changes. I am able to see what most people don't. I connect through positive energy, have an eye for people (teams) and know how to get them involved in the desired change of the organization

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