In high performance organizations, individuals not only strive to keep the commitments they make, they are also willing to confront co-workers who don’t keep theirs.  However, holding others accountable can be awkward—especially when the “other” is a peer.  This role play enables both team leaders and team member to work through the discomfort of these situations in a non-threatening environment.

“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!.

The ROE Report Results: A recent “Return on Expectation” (ROE) study for CRM’s popular training video Positive Discipline has shown that customers love the program’s simplicity and practical advice for turning a negative and dreaded part of work life, into something ultimately positive.

Customer expectations with Positive Discipline were met or exceeded more than 90 percent of the time, the study found. Both individuals and organizations have rated their experience as “highly satisfactory” in an independently-conducted study.

About the Video: Positive Discipline takes a common-sense, non-adversarial approach to one of the toughest parts of being a manager or supervisor. What’s usually a nightmare becomes an opportunity – the key is putting the ownership of the solution in the hands of the employee. This performance-based program offers practical, step-by-step methods for overcoming problem behaviors.

Survey Methodology: A variety of clients participated in the survey, from business, education non-profit and government sectors. Interviews lasted 30 minutes each, and each client was told that answers would be anonymous and aggregated into a central database in order to ensure unbiased feedback.

Training expectations: Training frequency varied widely – some clients reported using the program once every three to four months for managers and supervisors; others six times a year as part of a leadership training program, and one client uses it regularly as part of an ongoing supervisory program for all managers.

“I wanted scenarios, examples and I wanted a methodology to handle discipline situations”, one client said. The program delivered with a practical, step-by-step process. One client specifically mentioned the “journaling” process that was particularly helpful with tardiness and attendance issues. “Managers now have specifics when talking to employees.”

Most clients reported purchasing the program simply to help managers and supervisors deal with difficult situations. “They were struggling with this,” one participant said. “They don’t want to feel like the bad guy.”

Clients especially liked the program’s performance-based methodology. “We wanted something that provided a solid outcome.” Other respondents praised the program’s adaptability, saying the complete package provided solutions for managers and supervisors on a variety of levels.

How Behavior Changed: “After the last class, several managers in operations e-mailed me saying they’d been able to handle the difficult situations they’ve been dealing with,” one client reported. “Our front-line supervisors have used the skills from the program and reported it working well – they found it much less adversarial.”

One participant said the program was especially helpful for first-time managers. “It has the potential to reduce employee litigation, improve morale and reduce turnover,” another client thought.

And everyone agreed on this comment: “Anecdotally I have heard that it saves time and a lot of trouble – we’re learning to deal with things before they completely explode.”

View Trailer or Full Length Preview of Positive Discipline

A practical and direct process for use by new or seasoned mentors can be mastered in four simple steps.

Step 1: Extend Your Reach
Managers often report that one of the most satisfying parts of their job is when they have the opportunity to share their knowledge, experiences and insight with others. Reaching beyond the daily responsibilities of their job and profoundly affecting the growth and development of others brings the manager immediate rewards and the organization long lasting benefits. Fast-track mentoring education begins with “where and how” to offer help to learning partners.
Today´s employees want to learn and grow. Their own success is very important to them. The employee who cannot get answers, cannot learn or find out how to be successful, often grows frustrated and leaves the company.

Step 2: Listen, Don’t Preach
The mentor’s job doesn’t start with giving advice – it begins with listening. A mentor needs to hear what their partners want from the process. It’s also critical to learn about development needs and expectations. A good mentor must learn to explore the focus and understand the goals of their partners.

Step 3: Do More Than Teach
The traditional mentor was a teacher-but today it takes much more to be a successful mentor. There are four different conversation styles that can be used to stimulate learning and transmit knowledge quickly. They have been proven to promote learning and transmit knowledge quickly. Mentors need to learn how to share their stories, encourage dialogue, debrief their partner’s experiences, and help build network connections for their partners.
In a world where overnight obsolescence threatens skills and knowledge, success calls for creative ways to foster learning, improvement and everlasting experimentation.

Step 4: Define Actions for Each
Mentoring partners have equal responsibilities in making the process work. They need specific action plans so that both mentor and partner can measure the progress of their work together. The Mentoring process can be a great source of personal learning and satisfaction for everyone. But much of its success depends on finding the right balance between doing too much and doing too little.
As technology continues to change and the world continues to move faster, the value of using knowledge effectively in an organization will continue to skyrocket.

How Everyone Benefits
While the time-honored practice of mentoring has always been with us, it is now more than ever a dynamic tool for building collaborative relationships. Organizations need a simple but elegant process that demystifies the mentoring journey. It also should work to develop the mentor as he or she works to develop others.
A successful process should provide mentors and their partners with specifics on what to do, what to talk about, and how to take action. Mentoring in this fast-track format may well be one of the most powerful ways to engage and retain both employees and managers. It should also provide a payback for the organization so that talent can be recognized and grown.

Reprinted from hr.com, your source for knowledge, expertise and resources.

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