Local Control
Teams on the Way Down |
Teams on the Way Up |
The team conducts “autopsies with blame,” seeking culprits rather than wisdom |
The team conducts “autopsies without blame,” mining wisdom from painful experiences |
The panel was in agreement that this goal is crucial to the success of the organization. Key to its achievement is modeling by the leader. By admitting a lack of success and seeking input from the team, the leader takes a big step in putting the purpose of autopsies in perspective. Just being aware that the leader acknowledges a problem needs resolving is instructive. John noted the importance of a set of norms in place that assure being hard on issues and soft on people.
Frances urged that leaders conduct autopsies on major successes, too. These can be powerful learning opportunities for the team. Where the decision was made by the leader, his or her question such as, “What else do you think I could have done?” provides a powerful model.
Teams on the Way Down |
Teams on the Way Up |
Team members often fail to deliver exceptional results and blame other people or outside factors for setbacks, mistakes, and failures |
Each team member delivers exceptional results, yet in the event of a setback each accepts full responsibility and learns from mistakes |
The panel felt that this goal is significantly intertwined with the previous one. Lon, once again, talked of the importance of the leader providing modeling in accepting responsibility. Ann and Frances spoke of the importance of holding team members accountable but allowing them to save face in negative circumstances. A key question to be asked by the leader in such situations is, “What did you learn from this?”
John mentioned the importance of district and individual goals as a means of helping team members understand accountability. Frances and John spoke of the importance of the leader sharing with the Board upfront how he or she handles the mistakes of team members to avoid future misunderstanding.