-by Sandy Johnson, director of Organization Culture/Called to Care
Accountability means that each person understands what is expected, what excellence looks like, what the data shows about the department’s performance, and what needs improvement. Leaders hold employees accountable by setting expectations and ensuring those expectations are met.
Ownership means we own our work and embrace the organization’s mission and our department’s goals. Leaders and employees who take ownership experience the greatest joy in their work, make the biggest contributions, and are looked to as models of the best we can be. Each one of us chooses whether to take ownership of our work.
Owning our conversations
Emotions don’t just happen. They don’t settle on you like a fog nor are they forced onto you by others. We often say,” He makes me feel so mad.” But the truth is, we tell ourselves a story in our heads and we create our own emotions–positive or negative.
The story we tell ourselves about what’s happening then determines the kind of conversations we have and the direction we go.
Use these five tools in the acronym “STATE” to make your messages more effectively heard:
- Share your facts. If you want to share your concerns, perceptions, or feelings, begin with “It seems to me…,” “In my experience (or observation)…,” “I have been feeling (choose a feeling) because of (state the reason or observation) and I would like (state what you want)…”
- Tell your story without overwhelming the listeners. Own your part: “I know I also own part of this because I could have brought it up sooner…”
- Ask for other input about their facts and story. Check for their perspective: “And I wondered if you might be “thinking or feeling. Is that right?”
- Talk tentatively. This means to hold your story loosely, with a curiosity and willingness to consider other possibilities: “I’m wondering if…”
- Encourage testing. Invite opposing views: “Do you (does anyone) see it differently?” What could I be missing here?” “I’d like to hear another point of view about this.”