If You Want To Succeed, There Better Be An "I" in Team

If You Want To Succeed There Better Be An "I" in Team!

We have all heard (and probably uttered) that there is no "I" in TEAM but to be successful this can't be further from the truth. The definition of team is a collection of individuals working toward a single objective. In order to meet the objective every member of the team must be accountable for doing their part. If any member of your team does not accept accountability for their role as a member of the team meeting your objectives will be challenging. To ensure that team members become accountable they will each need to understand what is expected of them and where their role fits in to the overall scheme. Leaders will need to clearly state expectations and discuss these with each of the team member so that the team has a clear understanding of the path required to meet the objective.

So how do I apply this to safety management? From experience I can tell you that when safety is the just the responsibility of the safety staff your organization will struggle and the only time “accountability” is discussed is during an incident investigation. If you are the safety guru then you need to have a dialogue with your management team and start instilling a sense of “accountability” across the whole enterprise. This starts with communicating clear expectations up, down and across the organization. In order to be a driving force towards improvement these expectations need to be discussed, shared, and finally accepted at all levels. Therefore, they cannot be an edict sent down from above or it will be just an another flavor of the month and will evidently lose traction and then sputter to just a memory. This is a process and not just a onetime event. Like anything worthwhile it takes full commitment and engagement from every level. You will undoubtedly come up against team members that are reluctant and resistant to putting in the effort and here is where leadership qualities will need to surface. It is the leader's task to work with those that fail to grasp or understand how accountability provides a benefit to not only the organization as whole but to the individual. To get people to become engaged you must win their confidence.

Accountability should not invoke a negative emotion.  Accountability will instill a sense of pride and accomplishment. When we hold every one accountable to their expectations we propel the entire organization upward and together we all can achieve more. I leave you with this short quote from Coach John Wooden “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team”