The Five Behaviors™️: Healthy Behaviors That Improve Team Accountability
In a survey of 4,000 people, 89% of respondents thought that their work team would be more effective if people were better at holding one another accountable.
When everyone on your team is committed to the same clear actions and goals, they understand what everyone is doing and what is expected of each team member. This clarity makes it easier to hold one another accountable. However, holding each other accountable can be challenging because many people are uncomfortable pointing out other people’s unproductive behaviors.
One way to improve team accountability is to bring your team together using the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team model to build trust, master conflict, achieve commitment, and embrace accountability.
Take, for example, a team that has reached agreement on the top priorities for the next three months. They’ve set individual levels of accountability, so each team member has the same understanding of what is expected of them. Take it a step further and using the Five Behaviors model, discuss which of these behaviors might help the team improve team accountability to reach their goals: “Thinking back to the team’s top priority, which of these behaviors will be most helpful in achieving that goal? Why?”
Which behaviors might help improve team accountability?*
Be more direct.
Call one another on unproductive behaviors.
Spend more time together.
Give one another feedback.
Publicly share goals.
Address missed deadlines immediately.
Follow through on personal commitments.
Review progress against goals in team meetings.
Have clearer priorities and goals.
Have more efficient and productive meetings.
*©2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
The team ultimately will discuss several behaviors, but more importantly, discussing each of the behaviors provides insights into ways these behaviors currently play out on your team, specifically within meetings, and identifies what needs to change.
So, ask yourself . . .
“What are the healthy behaviors that will create the next best version of your team? How will you use these behaviors to improve team accountability?”
The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team model is based on building trust, mastering conflict, achieving commitment, embracing accountability, and focusing on results.