Members of successful teams know one thing…if everyone holds themselves and their fellow team members accountable for getting results, the team is more likely to be successful. Success teams understand the power of collective and they live it.
However, collective is not only about execution, it’s also extends to the behaviors of each individual on the team. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” In a team environment, this means that each team members acts in accordance with the team’s values. Team members speak with one voice and only speak in positive terms about each other. They treat each other with respect and seek opportunities to provide feedback to each other so that learning never stops.
Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, once wrote, “Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results. Team that practiced collective accountability own their results and never finger point or blame others for their failures. They do not allow the group to fragment into silos and they consciously create the culture that they work in and they accept nothing less than success.
As Michael Armstrong pointed out, “The ancient Romans had a tradition: whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed accountability for his work in the most profound way possible: he stood under the arch. Now that’s collective accountability!