M4 Assignment 1 Discussion Essay

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M4 Assignment 1 Discussion
Sheila Hawkins
Team Development and Leadership
Dr. Brandy Goldston-Blount
May 30, 2015

This particular assignment reminded me of an unfortunate incident that occurred in the beginning of my career regarding accountability. I was employed post college on an adolescent unit with approximately 20 children with conduct disorder, oppositional defiant and intermitted explosive disorders. We were required to attend the weekly multi-disciplinary treatment team and report our observations of the children we were tasked with monitoring. The treatment team consisted of approximately 9 disciplines. We worked as a team to come up with measureable goals for the clients. It took hours of collaboration weekly, as well as, making contact with the client, families, foster parents, other facilities and schools to draft an appropriate and achievable treatment plan for the clients. However, we were all in agreeance on the surface and on paper. The discrepancies occurred mostly on the second shift (5 team members). The team leader was as young as all of us. We all initially worked well together and seemed to agree upon the common goals of keeping the kids safe and adhering to the individualized treatment plans/goals. Shortly thereafter, the leader became very relaxed on the unit, we were not following that shifts required regimens, thereby disrupting structure. The staff was taking longer breaks and talking on the phones for personal reasons. The children became more and more unruly, they were staying up past bedtimes and refusing to do some of the things asked by staff. The leader was playing with the children and staff. One night, we realized one of the children we not in their designated area. We had to call security to assist us in finding her. This was one of the most devastating and learning experiences of my new career. I’ve always prided myself on being responsible, so I felt responsible, even though I was not directly responsible for monitoring her. This created major chaos with the immediate team, the treatment team, as well as the organization as a whole. Team members began to point fingers and distrust one another. The leader did not have an explanation or resolution for the problem. The team was in a state of conflict and had loss its effectiveness. This