Chapter 1

I walk down the street.
There’s a deep hole in the sidewalk.
And I fall in.
I am lost. I am helpless. It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

Chapter 2

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again.
I can’t believe I am in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It takes a long time to get out.

Chapter 3

I walk down the same street and there is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it there, and still I fall in.
It’s a habit.
But my eyes are open and I know where I am.
It is my fault and I get out immediately.

Chapter 4

I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

Chapter 5

I walk down a different street.

Recommended Training Resource: Leadership and Self-Deception. Based on the best-selling book, this video and its accompanying materials explore our human tendency to look elsewhere for the cause of our problems when we should really be looking within.

Instructions: Below is a short case study depicting a common problem that might surface in an organization. Read the example and then circle things in the following list that a person could do to show initiative in getting the problem solved.

In doing your job, you find that there are times when it takes way too long to get things done. You have some ideas for streamlining certain procedures, but no one has ever really asked for your opinion.

What are your options?

- Quietly begin complaining to your co-workers that certain procedures are inefficient and hope that one of them will bring it up to their boss.

- Before the next team meeting ends, say that you have an issue you’d like to discuss about perhaps making some adjustments to certain procedures.

- Send your supervisor an email, asking to talk to her about some ideas you have for streamlining procedures.

- Send the President of the company an email, asking to talk to her about some ideas you have for streamlining procedures.

- Leave anonymous sticky notes with jokes about the inefficient procedures on the printer by your boss’s office.

- Begin changing the procedures yourself and see if your streamlining ideas work before you suggest them to anyone else.

- Ask 3-4 people on your team to try your streamlining ideas out; if they get good results, then you will bring the streamlining issue up at your next team meeting.

- Let it go; it’s not worth the effort to change things and the risk to bring it up and appear unhappy with the way things are, or stupid if your ideas don’t work.

- Talk with a mentor or veteran employee about your ideas; see if anything like what you’re proposing has ever been tried before and ask their advice about what to do next.

Excerpted from the Leader’s Guide to the video program Can We Count on You?

Training Resource: Can We Count on You? is a common-sense program designed to put people–especially those entering the workforce for the first time–on the path to becoming highly valued employees. It provides a basic overview of what it takes to be seen as accountable, focusing on 10 specific day-to-day workplace behaviors.

1. Talk to your boss
Go to your supervisor and see if there are any additional projects you can work on. Make it a discussion more than a direct question by sharing your own career goals with him or her and how you fit into the company’s future.  When looking for opportunities, reflect on what skills or knowledge you want to develop and start there.  If possible, have a few concrete ideas in mind so you can suggest areas where you may be able to get more involved.

If you don’t have regularly scheduled meetings with your supervisor, try to get time on his or her calendar.  If that is a long way off, mention it in passing and follow up.  A simple “Hey, I think I am ready for more responsibility and would like to help the team” may be just what he or she needs to know to give you more.

2. Look for busy, stressed out coworkers
To take on more, look for the people who need help, be it in other departments or in the cubicle next door.  Make sure that you don’t become a victim of credit hogs, however; some people will attempt to have you do their extra work, and then take the credit.  Learn to identify and avoid these people.  Also, be sure to not overwhelm yourself with others’ work as you risk neglecting your own responsibilities.

3. Be proactive
Sometimes you can’t wait for someone else to give you the green light. Take initiative and do what needs to be done before someone asks you (or someone else) to do it. A good place to start is to identify tasks that are falling through the cracks and complete them. Your foresight will be appreciated.

If part of your planned activity involves reaching out to clients or other external members of your company, make sure that you have approval to do this.  “Jenn, I thought that a press search would be helpful here, and I wanted to reach out to Erik on the PR team” is a simple way of clarifying your ability to reach out to others independently and showing that you can see what the next step would be.

4. Start with the fun stuff
Some workplaces have extracurricular activities you can get involved in, be it the softball team or the sustainability initiative. Show your leadership skills there and get to know more people at work as a first step towards more official responsibility. It is good for your coworkers to get to know you outside of your traditional professional environment.

5. Become an expert
Acquire new knowledge continuously and try to stay on top of trends or developments in your field. If you are seen as an expert in a particular subject, you are more likely to be needed for new projects coming up.

One simple way of doing this is to set up a “Google Alert” for topics relevant to your industry, company or team’s area of responsibility.  Any articles featuring the terms you’ve chosen, i.e. “Obama environment oil spill BP”, will be included in a daily update email sent to your inbox.  When you find articles relevant to your team’s work, send them out with a brief accompanying summary.  You are helping all of your teammates look better and stay up-to-date on the latest industry news, which can gain you a lot of credibility as a team player. Remember though, if you send an article out to your team, make sure you anticipate any questions that may come up about the document.

About the Author:
Alex Cavoulacos is a co-founder of PrettyYoungProfessional.com. As COO, she works with the Editorial and Web teams to ensure that operations run smoothly and share her love of efficiency. Pretty Young Professional strives to be the ultimate online resource for young professional women.

Training Resource:  Make it Matter. Whether you’re a person just starting out in a job/career, a mid-level manager, or a senior leader, you will not become “essential” unless you are proactive at making it happen. In this video, consultant John Jenson illustrates three things a person can do to make themselves matter.

1. I’m the newest member of the group.  I haven’t earned my voice at the table yet.

2. I don’t care enough about the issue under discussion to risk offending anyone.  It’s more important to me to avoid making waves.

3. I care a lot about this issue, but I care more about keeping my job.  I’m going to keep my mouth shut!

4. If I express my real opinions on this issue, someone will give me an extra assignment, or put me in charge of finding alternatives.

5. I’m not the expert.  Why would I know more about this than the rest of those sitting at the table?

6. I shouldn’t be at this meeting in the first place.  Who put me on the distribution list, anyway?

7. We’ve been through this a dozen times.  I’m tired of it.  Let’s decide something—anything—and just move on.

8. The project sponsor has put so much effort into this proposal, I don’t want to hurt his feelings.

9. I have reservations about this decision, but if it moves ahead as is, there’s a good chance I can get that part-time assistant I need.

10. Everyone at this table remembers the last time I voiced a concern.  It created all kinds of implementation delays and then turned out to be a non-issue.

11. It’s really up to my boss.  That’s why they pay her the big bucks.

12. Am I the only one awake at this meeting?  I wish the others would learn to participate and be more accountable for decisions that impact that impact their departments.

13. Whatever.  (as in, what-EH-ver).

14. It would be better if we studied this more, but I suppose you could say that about any decision.  I’m not going to mention it.

15. I’m good with details.  But, right now, no one in this room wants to hear about MY problems or concerns with the details.  I’ll wait until later.

To make this a training activity:

Put the list above on a handout for each team member.

Have each participant pick their 3 favorite “excuses” from the list, by circling the numbers of the three statements with which they most identify.  Note:  Encourage participants to be completely honest.  Assure them they will not need to verbally share their responses with anyone.  They do not need to put their name on the handout.

Ask each person to jot down, on a separate piece of paper, the numbers they circled on the handout and then have them pass the handout back to you.

Write the numbers 1 – 15 on a flip chart or white board and use tally marks as a volunteer reads the choices from each handout.  (You may want to take a session break while you tally the responses.)

Construct the group’s Top 5 List by recording the number of selections for Reason #1, Reason #2, etc.  Circle the five most frequently noted reasons.

Review the list, starting with #5 and working toward #1 (the most often cited).  If you have time constraints, focus on the top three reasons.  Ask the group for comments about these tendencies.

Present the following alternatives as a way to counter the reluctance we all can feel about sharing our true opinions, knowledge and feelings in a group decision-making situation.

• Calculate the real risks (both to yourself and to the organization) of speaking up, or not speaking up.  Are your expectations of what will happen if you speak out against a decision realistic or have you exaggerated them in your mind? Think about the consequences to the team or organization if the decision does, indeed, turn out to be flawed.  How will you feel if that happens?

• Confront your fear of separation.  As humans, we sometimes fear that presenting an opinion contrary to what others are saying will be label us a “non-team player” and/or cause us to be alienated from the group. Ask yourself this question: would you rather be liked by your fellow team members or valued for what you contribute.  You stand to make the biggest impact on your team’s success when you honestly share your knowledge, opinions and experiences.

• As a group, work together to make sure people are properly prepared for meetings and that your group maintains a climate of open participation.  What needs to change about what happens before meetings so that people come prepared to discuss the pro’s and con’s of an issue/decision?  What can you do differently during meetings to encourage everyone’s involvement and to make it safe for people to speak up?

*Excerpted from the CRM Learning program, The Abilene Paradox, Second Edition.

Need more help in this area? CRM Learning’s all time best-selling video program, The Abilene Paradox, shows how group decisions get derailed when group members are not honest with their input. Viewers are given a number of tips for helping groups avoid “false consensus”.

2. Nobody gave me a deadline, so I just figured I had all the time in the world to do it.

3. I never really did agree with the decision, but I wasn’t about to say that to my boss.

4. What a mess—someday someone should really clean this up.

5. They never tell us anything!

6. Performance reviews are just a formality; I never take the suggestions seriously.

7. There’s almost no chance that I’ll finish on time, but I’m not going to tell anyone–things might still magically come together at the last moment.

8. People keep giving me more and more work, but I’m afraid if I say “no” to it, I’ll get in trouble.

9. I could see it wasn’t being done right, but it’s not my job to correct other people’s work.

10. I did the best I could, but I wasn’t really sure what you wanted.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if no one ever said things like this? Certainly the workplace would be more efficient if these phrases became obsolete. Why? Because they are all symptoms of a common problem—a lack of accountability. These comments are made by people who don’t:

• Take responsibility for themselves, their work and even the success of their team
• Seek clarity (including asking about objectives and deadlines) before undertaking a task
• Understand that being accountable includes holding others accountable for
               what they’ve said they’ll do
• “Manage upwards” (make sure they proactively get the information they need from
               their supervisor or leader)
• Speak up when they disagree and/or when they’re overloaded with work

Organizations can do themselves a great service by training and coaching people in these types accountability behaviors.  For where there are individuals and teams focused on accountability, improved results and greater success are sure to follow.

Based on concepts featured in CRM Learning’s Accountability that Works! training program.

Training Resouce: Help everyone in your organization improve their accountability with CRM’s Can We Count on You? . This 24-minute video illustrates ten specific things accountable people routinely do.

#1 Declare each goal as a decisive statement: Express your goals positively – ‘Implement this procedure well’ is a much better goal than ‘Don’t make this stupid misstep.’

#2 Be clear-cut: Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can gauge achievement. If you do this, you will know spot on when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.

#3 Set priorities: When you have a number of goals, give each one a priority. This helps you to prevent feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most significant ones.

#4 Write goals down: This magnifies them and gives them more force.

#5 Keep operational goals small: Keep the low-level goals you are working towards small and realistic. If a goal is too heavy, then it can seem that you are not making development towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward. Develop today’s goals from larger ones.

#6 Set performance goals, not outcome goals: You should take care to set goals over which you have as much power as possible. There is nothing more disappointing than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your rule. In business, these could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy. In sport, for illustration, these reasons could include feeble judging, bad weather, injury, or just plain bad luck. If you base your goals on personal accomplishment, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and pull satisfaction from them.

#7 Set realistic goals: It is crucial to set goals that you can reach. All sorts of people, employers, parents, media, society can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own requirements and ambitions. Then again, you may set goals that are too high, because you may not realize either the obstacles in the way or recognize quite how much aptitudeyou need to develop to achieve a precise level of performance.

Achieving Goals

When you have achieved a goal, take the time to benefit from the satisfaction of having done so. Bask in the implications of the goal achievement, and survey the progress you have made towards other goals. If the goal was a considerable one, reward yourself appropriately. All of this helps you create the self-confidence you deserve!

With the skill of having achieved this goal, review the rest of your goal plans:

If you achieved the goal too easily, make your next goals harder.

If the goal took a dispiriting length of time to achieve, make the next goals a little easier.

If you learned something that would guide you to change other goals, do so.

If you noticed a discrepancy in your skills in spite of achieving the goal, determine whether to set goals to resolve this.

Failure to meet goals does not matter much, as long as you can be trained from it. Supply lessons learned back into your goal setting program.

Remember, too, that your goals will transform as time goes on. Fiddle with them systematically to reveal growth in your learning and experience, and if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then let them go.

Reference: Some material used from MindTools.com

Written by John Stone. More on Goal Setting. John is looking for 10 people to mentor that are serious about changing their Financial Future.

Need more help in this area? The Who Says We Can’t Do It video program uses the story of Lance Armstrong’s triumph over cancer and his subsequent Tour de France wins to instill a strong, Can do! attitude in your employees.

“A Little More Time” Role Play Scenario

Marketing VP Kimberly is preparing her 45-person consulting firm’s major proposal for a year’s worth of work from a major client.  She knows that demonstrating the staff’s depth of experience will be the key to winning this contract.  That means a strong, focused, well-written resume section in the proposal document.

At the weekly managers’ meeting, Kimberly asks Sam to take responsibility for collecting the resumés and background information from seven team leaders who will have key roles on the project.  Sam will need to make sure the resumés are up-to-date, consistent in format and clearly focused on the client’s industry.  Only four of this group are present at the meeting.  Sam is one of the seven.  He willingly accepts ownership for the task and aims to please.

It is three weeks until the proposal is due.  Sam and Kimberly meet to discuss how the resumés will be used in the proposal—but they don’t spend time discussing the actual process of collecting and updating them.  Kimberly expresses her appreciation to Sam for taking on the task, and he agrees to have the updated resumés to her in ten days. No problem—it all seems straightforward enough.

Ten days later, 3:30am.  Sam is working at home the morning before his deadline.  He is rewriting two of the resumés, and he is missing another two altogether.  Sam was certain he had emailed these managers to request their resumés,—they work in one of the firm’s out-of-state offices and he doesn’t know them well.  His own resumé and the ones he received from two other team leaders are in good shape.  He decides to ask Kimberly for two more days to complete the assignment.

Set Up the Role Play

Instruct participants to read the “A Little More Time” scenario (above). Have them role play two ways of concluding the scenario.

1) First, role play Kimberly responding when Sam comes to her to ask for several more days to complete the assignment.  One partner plays Kimberly, the other plays Sam. Allow no more than five minutes for this role play.

2) Second, role play a scene between Sam and one of the team leaders who has not provided their information to Sam.  One partner plays Sam, the other plays the team leader. Allow no more than five minutes for this role play.

Debrief the Role Play Activity

Ask the participants:

1. How comfortable were you in the first role play where Kimberly was responding Sam’s request for more time? 

2. Did people find it more difficult to hold a peer accountable in the second role play? If so, what made it more difficult?

3. What are some things a person should do when holding another person accountable?

Look for responses such as:

·       First, ask yourself, “How may I have contributed to this poor result—was I clear about what I needed?”

·       Don’t jump to conclusions, hear the other person out.

·       In the discussion, use “I” statements such as “I have trouble keeping my commitments when I don’t receive your information by the deadline.”

·       Work together on a plan to rectify the situation and determine how to keep it from happening again.  

·       Ask “What do you need from me? More notice, more help, better instructions, etc.?”)

4. What are the consequences of not confronting those (either subordinates or co-workers) who have not kept a commitment?

This material excerpted from the Leader’s Guide to the video program, Accountability That Works!.

Nothing is more energizing than having great ideas fly around a meeting room and everyone is engaged in solving problems and getting things done. In tough economic times, seeing employees express ideas about how to keep the business booming is especially rewarding. “We should put this on the website!” “We can get advertising to highlight this feature in the next marketing campaign!” “Customers will love the ability to download this information!”

You want to keep these great expectations moving from one meeting to the next and ensure that the best ideas are not allowed to stall. It’s important that the great ideas “we” need to act on are not lost. Those ideas are gold and the miners of that gold are in the room.

The Problem with “We”
To get to the gold, you must eliminate the Nothing Has Been Done with the Great Ideas We Had in the Last Meeting syndrome. And why does nothing get done? Because “we” were going to do it.

To harness the power of every employee you must remember that the pronoun “we” doesn’t do anything or get anything done. When a person says “we” should do something, that’s great! What’s even greater, though, is when everyone is led to move a “we” to an “I”… with an accompanying “by-when”.

Imagine how the results of your team will skyrocket when individuals begin saying things like…“We have come up with some great stuff! I am especially excited about customers downloading this information. I’ll own that, and by the next meeting I will have an outline for you.”

Grab and Go
Full-out brainstorming is fun and productive so long as “we” know that each “I” will have an opportunity to grab onto something they can be enthusiastic about and follow through on. This requires leaders who possess an ownership mindset and take responsibility for a successful end result before the meeting begins. They must encourage employees to listen for things they can “own” and ensure that the best ideas (the ones that generate enthusiasm, energy and a winning set of strategies) are snatched up.

The skill is to recognize the potential in the room and not shut people down with a You Say It, You Own It approach. Employees are much more likely to emerge with their best thinking when they know they’re not going to get stuck doing something they don’t want to do. (And, you can always circle back to address any un-owned “we” or missing “by-when”.) A meeting becomes a gold mine when employees can pick the idea they see the most potential in, grab it and say the three golden words: “I’ll own that!”

Versera offers a top-down consultative approach to building accountability within organizations through a powerful assessment process, one-on-one coaching and facilitated accountability workshops.

Training Solution: Accountability That Works! The accountability model in this video will help you create a workplace where employees take ownership and achieve results.