PROFESSOR B.

SASAKI

TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

LDRS 400 Conflict Management

Unit 2: Crucial Accountability
Appendix A: Where do you Stand?
Student Name: _Han Zuo 622663__________

To measure your skill level and see how this book can best
serve your needs, candidly review the following statements.
Check Yes if they apply to you. Check No if they do not. 

Part 1: Complete this survey. Review how many YES answers

you have. Look at the scoring chart at the end of the survey.
You will be choosing the top 2 areas where you had the
most YES answers to formulate your paper #2.

Part 2: Complete the reflection questions in part 2.

PART 1: WHERE DO I STAND?

Chapter 1: Choose What and If 

Yes  No    
– yes –  1. To avoid getting into an argument, I tend to put off certain discussions
longer than I should. 
–  – no 2. Sometimes when people disappoint or bother me, I confront them
only to realize that I talked about the easy problem, but not the real root
problem. 
– yes –  3. Parts of my life would improve if I could just figure out how to talk
about certain hot topics without taking too much risk. 
– yes –  4. Occasionally I talk myself out of holding a certain discussion by
convincing myself it’s better to cope than it is to risk an ugly
confrontation. 
– yes –  5. With some of the problems I care about the most, I find myself
bringing up the same issue over and over again. 

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TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

Chapter 2: Master My Stories 

Yes  No    
–  – no 6. When others do things that are mean or selfish and I’m less than kind
in return, I tell myself that they deserved it. 
– yes –  7. When others don t deliver on a promise, there are times when I judge
their reasons for doing so more quickly than I should. 
–  – no 8. Sometimes I assume that others cause me problems on purpose, and
then I act as if this assumption is actually true when it may be false. 
–  – no 9. Occasionally I wonder if I’m too quick to anger. 
– yes –  10. There are times when I’ve totally blamed others for a problem only to
learn that I was partially responsible. 

Chapter 3: Describe the Gap 

Yes  No    
– yes –  11. Sometimes I bring up problems in a way that makes others
defensive. 
–  – no 12. Occasionally I talk to someone about their bad behavior within
earshot of others. 
– yes –  13. There are times when I can’t figure out how to give others completely
honest feedback in a way that won’t offend them. 
– yes –  14. Sometimes when I bring up a problem I do too much talking and not
enough listening. 
–  – no 15. When I bring up problems with others, there are times when I make it
hard for them to share their views. 

Chapter 4: Make It Motivating 

Yes  No    
–  – no 16. I can’t motivate some of the people to change because I don t have
enough power to do so. 
–  – no 17. In order to get people to want to do certain things, sometimes I rely
on guilt or even threats. 
– yes –  18. There are times when I can’t figure out why people aren’t interested
in doing what they should be doing. 
– yes –  19. Sometimes it’s hard to get others to understand that the behavior I

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 PROFESSOR B. SASAKI

TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

Yes  No    
want from them is really in their best interest. 
– yes –  20. There are people I routinely deal with who, to be honest, just can’t be
motivated. 
Chapter 5: Make It Easy 

Yes  No    
–  – no 21. When people find a job to be unattractive or noxious, I occasionally
turn up the heat so they will do it no matter what. 
–  – no 22. When someone can’t do something, I tend to jump in with my advice,
when all they really want is a chance to talk about their ideas. 
–  – no 23. Sometimes I think that individuals who bend over backwards to make
jobs easy are pampering people who just need to do their job and be
held accountable. 
–  – no 24. Occasionally after finishing a problem-solving discussion, I forget to
check to see if the other person is committed to do what s necessary. 
– yes –  25. There are times when I’ve asked others for their ideas but didn’t
really need them because I already had a plan of my own. 

Chapter 6: Stay Focused and Flexible 

Yes  No    
–  – no 26. When talking to others about problems, sometimes I get sidetracked
and miss the original problem. 
– yes –  27. When people bring up whole new problems during a crucial
confrontation, I don t know what to do with the new issue. 
–  – no 28. When people get angry in the middle of a discussion, I don t always
know how to respond. 
–  – no 29. I’m pretty good at staying focused on an issue, but occasionally may
miss talking about what the other person really wants to discuss. 
– yes –  30. When someone misses a commitment and should have updated me
but didn’t, I generally let them off the hook even though they didn’t have
the courtesy to involve me. 

Chapter 7: Move to Action 

Yes  No    
–  – no 31. Sometimes I work through a problem but forget to clarify who is
supposed to do what by when. 

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TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

Yes  No    
– yes –  32. There are times when I’m disappointed with what others have done
because they have failed to understand exactly what I wanted them to
do. 
–  – no 33. Sometimes I neglect to give others a specific deadline, only to be
surprised when they don t deliver by the time I expected them to. 
–  – no 34. I’m pretty sure that either my kids, my spouse, my friends or some of
the people I work with think I micromanage them. 
–  – no 35. Sometimes I give people assignments but don’t have adequate time
to follow up. 

1. Scoring: Record your Score Here

Add up the number of boxes you checked Yes ___16____. Each YES represents an area where
you could use some assistance. Here’s what your total score means: 

 26-35: Don t put this book down! 

 16-25: You could use some help, but at least you re honest. 
 6-15: You’re capable and likely are succeeding. 
 1-5: You could teach us all a thing or two.

These results will give you an indication of areas you may need to work on in order to become
better at holding healthy accountability conversations.

2. Chapter-by-Chapter Results: Let’s Dig a Little Deeper… (write your responses

in this document)

Which two (2) chapters did you have the most “yes” boxes checked?

I had the most “yes” in “Make it Motivating”and “Describe the Gap”.

Do you have any idea why you think you might have a challenge in each of those two areas
when it comes to accountability?

I think I had the most “yes” in “Make it Motivating”are because I find my leadership skills
are not proficient enough and unleashed in most situations. I tend to play a good listener to
give feedback but yet to become a person to carry out influence and be the motivator.

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TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

In the area of “Describe the Gap”, I think when I bring up an idea or feedback, I tend to be
overly assertive in believing that I was “right” about it, so it can be something that people
have to process slowly but I always run it through fast because I feel optimistic when I speak
up.

This survey is divided into the seven chapters that cover crucial confrontation skills (five
questions each). Look at your results chapter by chapter. You will read the entire book but you
will want to focus your attention on the chapters where you checked the most YES boxes.
These chapters offer the solutions to your most common challenges. The 2 top YES boxes will be
the basis for your Paper #2: Crucial Accountability

PART 2: ACCOUNTABILITY REFLECTION

Answer all these questions thoughtfully.

Think of chronic or ongoing problems you face at work, at school, with your family,
relationships. As you do so, ask yourself the following questions (this is to get you thinking
about accountability issues) (Explain in detail – not just one-word answers).

1. What do I complain about most to others?

I tend to complain about problems in organizational structure. I like to troubleshoot and

reflect on organization’s problems and I would tell peers my “findings”. I think
organizational structure problems are underlying critical issues that need to be solved but
they are usually ignored because they are hard to fix.

2. What people do I avoid and what do they do that frustrates me?

I avoid people who complain about work, peers, and everything. I do not like to spend time
in a negative conversation while the person aims to convince me that everything besides
him/her is wrong. I also do not like to work with person who likes to say “I am not capable
of...”.

3. Am I working on projects that I know will NOT meet my goals or target? What about
someone else…am I falling behind and not able to meet THEIR goals or targets? Discuss.

Mostly I am able to figure out if something cannot be accomplished. If I find the project
difficult to complete before accepting the assignment, I will raise my questions about the
difficulty of the project and the support I need. If I find out after taking on the task, I will put

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TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY

the blame on my overall ability and art of leadership because I tend to take full
responsibility of what I undertake.

4. Do I find myself more upset when I finish a conversation than when I started? Explain.

Yes sometimes, some conversations are not crucial. In other words, they are meaningless to
proceed what’s ongoing. I like to go straight on whatever I think so I also expect others can
keep the same attitude for a serious talk aiming to make progress.

5. Do I interact with people whom I would describe as disorganized, unreliable, rude,

insensitive or dishonest? What specific actions have I seen that make me come to these
conclusions?

Yes. These people can be seen anywhere in school, and in workplaces. It’s not easy to draw
my judgement unless I work with them closely. When people keep failing to produce within
a set time frame, or consistently produce disappointing results, then I would categorize
these people as disorganized, unreliable. If someone is rude, insensitive, or dishonest, I can
tell it from having some conversations with them. It’s easier for me to spot those
characteristics in person.

6. Is there an area of your life that you want to be held more accountable? Discuss.

In work I hope to be held more accountable. I need more challenging performance index to
“discipline” myself so I can motivate myself to accomplish more. I want to always fulfill
beyond the expectations of my upper floor and peers. During the process, I may enhance
my leadership traits and become more competent to undertake things I cannot handle in
the past.