Prentice Hall Press; ISBN:
0735200521 ;
Great point! Long-term accountability is a way of thinking and a way of acting.
Actions are pivotal, but the real starting point is with experiences.
Experiences become the basis for 'beliefs', which then foster 'actions'. 'Results' become the first visible consequences of actions!
How can the customer focus practice help to build and maintain accountability in provider teams?
- Establishing behaviors through building experiences. As team leaders and their members practice 'asking' customers "How are we doing?" they see and feel the responses and become a part of the process. Members become familiar with the perspectives of customers who determine their success as a team.
- By learning to 'ask' the questions, they 'own' the answers. As opposed to the answers being given to them for questions they were not directly involved in asking. Members get direct input as to their role in the team's objectives as they relate to customers.
- Provider teams have a tool to involve and empower them to solve problems. Through sharing (bulletins) and measuring the feedback, team members form assessments (opinions) from their experiences and begin to develop beliefs about relationships developed through the practice. Communications flow as obstacles to desired results are shared by all.
- Teams are able to monitor and measure their own actions as customers perceive them. This enables them to set goals for results. All learning is on the job, as they go. They just do it. Leaders learn to decide, with support, what they need to know and proactively get it. They also learn to measure for motivation and keep a scorecard on where they are versus where they want to be on results.
