One problem with team-building assessments is that most data gathering and evaluation questions are passive. It seems as if team building happens to people, as opposed to people being active players in their work lives.

Working with a Managing Partner in a law firm, he shared his frustration like this, “We work hard to make this place somewhere people can do their best work and be happy. And, I keep getting shit from my board about my employee engagement feedback. Many of the questions are not appropriate for lawyers. The question “I have a best friend at work” these are lawyers, and they score low because they do not have time, and many do not want best friends at work… Where is the way to determine their effort to be friendly, set goals, be motivated?” 

I thought that was a good question, and I went to work looking for an active team coaching and consulting process. That brought me to Marshall Goldsmith’s Wheel of Change.

The useful thing about the wheel of change is that you can accept the organizational system you are a part of, the passive stuff you cannot control while making an active choice to change, and the active things you can control.

“When we bluntly challenge ourselves to figure out what we can change and what we can’t, what to lose and what to keep, we often surprise ourselves with the bold simplicity of our answers and can thus take significant, real steps towards becoming the person we want to be.” – Marshall Goldsmith

Sharing the wheel of change model, following a 360-Leadership Feedback, with a team or individual you can quickly identify:

• … a behavior I choose to create or add is _____
• … a behavior I choose to preserve or enhance is _____
• … a behavior I choose to eliminate is _____
• … a behavior I choose to accept is_____

Working with many teams and individuals, we quickly saw this concept as useful.

Using the Wheel of Change with a Team

Facilitating this with a team is similar to working with one person receiving leadership coaching.

1. Share the wheel of change
2. Explain – Create, Preserve, Eliminate, Accept
3. Ask the team to share ideas for each area. I recommend you start with Create, then go through Preserve, Eliminate, Accept
4. Ask the team to review each response in the wheel of change and ensure that each statement has personal accountability within their control and they have the authority to act upon it.
5. Translate each statement into “Did I do my best to …” See below for examples.
6. At the end of every day, have each team member score their effort on each statement from 1 = low effort to 10 = high effort.
7. Repeat #6 every day for 18 months …

 

Example of Personal Accountability to change within a team questions

1. Did I do my best to follow the billing & project process?
2. Did I do my best to hold others accountable for following the billing & project process?
3. Did I do my best to set project deadlines?
4. Did I do my best to achieve project deadlines?
5. Did I do my best to hold myself accountable to work deadlines?
6. Did I do my best to see ‘our company’ as a thriving company?
7. Did I do my best to preserve my quality of work?
8. Did I do my best to be innovative?
9. Did I do my best to achieve & uphold quality standards?
10. Did I do my best to preserve a high trust, empowering office environment?
11. Did I do my best to support my teammates?
12. Did I do my best to accept that others hold me accountable?
13. Did I do my best to accept that others have different quality standards?
14. Did I do my best to accept that others have different goals & priorities?
15. Did I do my best to see conflict/ resolution as a point of progress?
16. Did I do my best to accept others’ feedback/ critique of my work?
17. Did I do my best to eliminate the belief that others’ feedback + challenges are all about me?
18. Did I do my best to eliminate ‘our company’ being a scrappy, struggling company?
19. Did I do my best to stop trying to be everything to everyone?

Interested in change and personal accountability with your organization or team? Make Progress with Mike