Week Nine - Video Debrief of Team MA

When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.

-       John F. Kennedy

This week we had the opportunity to reflect upon our results provided by Tom and Rachel from NextSteps Research; it was a very powerful and moving exploration, and I learned a great deal about my inward drive towards success and how much of it stems around perfectionism and my need for recognition.

In the case of who my characteristics would have fit in with the culture and makeup of the NeXT startup team, I feel like it would be a mixed bag.

For example, although I enjoy setting and accomplishing ambitious goals that “…thrive on the use of metrics…” to show myself and others what I am working towards achieving (NextSteps Research, 2015), this particular aspect would have fit in well with NeXT. Their goal to build and produce an exemplary affordable computer was the definition of ambition back in the late 1970’s. Additionally, because I also scored high on the innovation scale, it would be an excellent complement to the team at NeXT, as my key performance attributes identified by Tom and Rachel were related to “…problems solving, process creativity, and inventiveness…” which are essential elements when leading a team on a large scale (NextSteps Research, 2015). These inclinations would work hand-in-hand with Jobs and the rest of the team.

Where I begin to doubt a good fit would be during the company retreats and brainstorming sessions take a turn to the limitations Jobs essentially failed to acknowledge, such as time and resource constraints. I believe that the “cumulative efforts” that made Jobs and the team great is just from that, “built from the heart” but lacked the reality that there are factors no matter how hard we work, that are just beyond our control. Jobs’s arrogance seemed to give the impression that we could overcome everything, and became “overbearing” with his ideologies and requirements of his team. This would be an area of concern for me working in these conditions; I have a propensity to want to be heard and validated, and my ideas and efforts given consideration. Job’s doesn’t appear to be concerned with personal aspects of management and leadership; he is focused on the product, and not the people creating the product.

I would enjoy how Job’s constantly pushes each of his team challenging beyond the “norm” – he does a great job keeping the team focused on the goal, and I enjoy that drive and someone that can constantly “reiterate” that vision. However, he constantly interrupts the team overriding their concerns and challenges by only reiterating his priorities, and crates “reality distortion” – this could serve to be problematic for my personality and propensities to have freedom to explore and set my own goals. As my profile indicates, in the areas associated with independence, my scoring showed exactly what I enjoy; freedom to do, act, and think, while seeking consultation and given parameters and without explicit structure and rules. Job’s didn’t function this way; he wanted to be involved and heard on everything that touched the product and his thought process took priority over everyone else’s limiting the amount of freedom each departmental team had access to explore.

Additionally, although I tend to have conservative goal ambitions towards the future, I love the interaction and uncertainty that my dynamically changing environment offers. Because of the dynamics I work under, I appreciate reflection and interaction, but once I have collected the vital information to make a decision, I make it and move on. Job’s and the culture of NeXT by the time they reached six months of existence, his speech delivery during the second retreat reminded me of my own worst enemy – hearing how hard the team has worked and killed themselves to produce the end result that is good, “just not good enough” would be such a blow to my esteem. He gives the impression that he is incredibly judgmental and that the efforts and sacrifices made before are now entirely irrelevant. There is a great deal of frustration experienced from the team; they are unable to clearly articulate their needs. Every department appears to be on an island of one – there doesn’t appear cohesion, collaboration, or compassion between one another. This doesn’t fit my results, my personality, or my hierarchy of needs.

Where I see a good match is how they itemize their spending habits; I know how to nickel and dime and find ways to remove extraneous spending! That is one area that I would consider my forte, and therefore, I could have offered review and analysis to assist the team in cost reduction suggestions. However, they were more concerned looking for the low-hanging fruit spending which didn’t appear to be the underlying problem. This would have been a great match for me; this ties back to my ability to take what I am given, and make it better each time I evaluate or encounter it. As Tom put it, I am an “…excellent tweaker…” and this justifies my inclination to be independent and be a problem solver, not a problem identifier (NextSteps Research, 2015).

Although I actually have a great deal of respect for Jobs and his contributions to our generations, I don’t find that NeXT happens to be the perfect fit of challenge, freedom, personal balance, and appropriate mix of need related to the group dynamics in which I crave. I love that they are trying to do the impossible, that part is certainly right up my alley. But that only satisfies one part of the myriad of sides to my personality! I need diversity, I crave change in challenges, and I most likely do better when faced with several projects, instead of being compartmentalized into one area. NeXT’s adventure, while seemingly interesting, just wouldn’t be the best fit for the “me” that I am today!

Until we blog again!

Reference

NextSteps Research. (2015). Management Assessment Profile. Alexandria: NextSteps Research.

Week Eight - Reflective Analysis

Personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures.

-       F. Scott Fitzgerald

This is one of those bitter-sweet times…we are almost at the end of our journey for 632, which I am glad to be down to one class soon, but I am so sad that the learning on the subject will formally end. This week, we had the opportunity to complete some reflective analysis. One of my favorite things is the MBTI personality indicator testing. I jumped at the chance to take the one made available on the HumanMetrics website this afternoon.

My results really haven’t changed much over the coursework of MSLD experiences; I am still seen as an “ENJF” which demonstrated that 47% of my personality is based upon extroversion interactions, 9% was based upon intuition, 28% based on my feelings of a person or situation, and 3% based on judgment (Humanmetrics, Inc., 2015). Overall, I have a preference for extroversion, versus introversion, which anyone who knows me, knows this was not a surprise. It also indicated that I have a “…slight preference of Intuition over Sensing” (Humanmetrics, Inc., 2015) and that I have a moderate inclination of feeling over thinking. This was the one area that surprised me more than the others; I do a great deal of decision based analytical thinking, or so I thought, over doing so based on feeling. That is one small example of what I love about taking this kind of time for reflection, which is something I rarely have the opportunity to do.

I think on an annual basis, one thing that I can do is actually make the time to reflect upon not only my leadership style and preferences, but also seek out what areas my team would like me to develop more inclinations towards; that way I am not only actively seeking out 360-degree feedback, but also letting others know that I care about their views and how I impact them on a daily basis. Leadership requires that we are constantly rebalancing our viewpoints, as well as refocusing our frames.

For example, I consider my natural style of leadership to be somewhat a more participative style. I do my best to ask for the input of others to help myself and the team generate a thorough decision making process. In my 632 class, I recently discovered that I like the idea of the portfolio perspective when making decisions. This is because I am analytical in nature, and this method allows for the exploration of “…sets of options…and evaluate the net result of…combinations…” (Hoch et al., 2001, p. 150) rather than only reviewing one option at a time.

By learning to take the best from both worlds, it allows leaders to find the right combination, not the right answer from a group of choices. The challenges I see with this option is that this methodology can be time consuming and never ending; not all decisions have ample time for review, nor can all information be reviewed to find the optimal answer, and the choices may then become an endless wish list. This also reminds me of the need to speak the frame language of others. By learning to strike a chord with the other members needs, I can “align” my message with the frame necessary to gain critical buy-in (Hoch et al., 2001, p. 153).

All in all, I couldn’t be happier to be at the end of the course work for purely selfish reasons, but reflection is one of the most valuable tools I have learned to apply in my personal and professional life going forward. The trick is really going to be to make the conscious effort to carve out dedicated time in which to do so.

Until we blog again!

Reference

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H. C., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on Making Decisions. Danvers: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Humanmetrics, Inc. (2015). Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test™. Retrieved December 08, 2015, from Humanmetrics.com: http://www.humanmetrics.com/hr/jtypesresult.aspx?EI=47&SN=-9&TF=-28&JP=3

Week Seven - The Future of OD

Life is divided into three terms - that which was, which is, and which will be. Let us learn from the past to profit by the present, and from the present, to live better in the future.

-       William Wordsworth

This week I think I have finally realized that I am ready to start living my life, not just merely surviving. It’s too short and I overcomplicate too much, but that is typical due to the frame in which I see others in juxtaposition to where I see myself.

This week we reviewed various ways in which OD is often scrutinized; some see it as an effective way to managing change, while others deem it as an irrelevant group of impractical ideas supported by a mere fad.  The future of OD lies in our ability to successfully send the consistent message that change is going to happen regardless of what we do, or do not do; those whom are armed with a variety of tools and processes stand a greater chance in success of becoming a reconfigurable organization that takes change in stride and provides the tools, guidance, leadership and resources our organizations need to remain relevant in the future (Brown, 2011, p. 420). Those who deem it just mushy psychobabble most likely will attempt to remain authoritarian, bureaucratic, and rigid reactive organizations that ignore the stability that OD has to offer our leaders and our teams, subsequently leading them to miss out on the ability to retain a workforce of innovative thinkers and an empowered stabilized teams working in unison and harmony.

As with any field, there is going to be varied opinions. I can see how people tend to gravitate towards sciences that are provable and concrete; whereas OD tends to constantly be an emerging science, where developments and new approaches are constantly being added and subtracted as new information becomes available, and therefore is in constant renewal and evolution (Brown, 2011, p. 425). OD is subject to the change in organizational climates, and therefore requires more latitude than say a clinical trial of a cancer drug. With the drug, it either stops the cancer from spreading, or it doesn’t; with OD we are constantly being thrust towards a “…world that is rapidly changing and that our…” organizations “…must follow suit” (Brown, 2011, p. 425). It is the equivalent of thinking one type of cancer drug can cure all types of cancer…it is just not realistic.

Where I see the largest challenge for the future of OD is embedded in our westernized ways; our culture values speed. Mostly, OD, in order for it to be effective, takes place over a period of time using multiple phases, integrations, and interventions. Today’s leaders don’t tend to have a great deal of spare time to react, implement, and reflect. We lack the ability and the luxury of having a balanced vision, leading to myopia and thinking on the fly. We tend to forget that leaders do make mistakes, and often times unknowingly make decisions that do in fact get the job done, but ultimately conditions us to do so in waves of adrenaline, emotions, and fear of missed opportunities (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001, p. 93).

I see the future of OD in people like myself; it is not so much about the future of the discipline, but in more so in the ways like people who study it will keep the fire alive by applying the practical applications in everyday life situations. What students of OD have the joy in knowing is that we remember we don’t know everything! Therefore, over the past two semesters, I have been building a lifelong toolkit to pull from that can be applied not only in my professional life, but my personal one as well. The fact that there is a formal education accessible in OD tells me this isn’t something that is a fly-by-night science. Just because our objectives may seem like “moving targets” doesn’t make that a reality to those embedded in the foundation of our work (Brown, 2011, p. 426). I would bet money that most leaders use some form of OD application in everyday life and never would realize it; I can’t prove that I love my husband, or my dogs, or even my job. Love isn’t seen as a tangible item to some people. That doesn’t mean we cannot find pragmatic ways in which to prove that OD works; when is the last time being innovative like Steve Jobs didn’t work? How many companies have you known that said areas such as employee empowerment, trust, reengineering what doesn’t work, and understanding what change and conflict can do to the morale of the organization, your employees, and your future was for the birds and lead to catastrophic consequences?

Although we never know what the future holds for any of us, “Organization development has been…a process…to increase organization effectiveness by integrating the needs of the individual members for growth and development with the organization’s goals” (Brown, 2011, p. 429); if you ask me, OD is something that we simply don’t have enough visibility in, and programs such as this will likely gain it momentum in the future.

Until we blog again!

References

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development, Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H. C., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on Making Decisions. Danvers: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Week Three - Reflections on Decision Making

Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.

-          Thomas Carlyle

Oh, how I do love weeks like this; the pain of ripping off Band-Aids is so insignificant in comparison to what you get to see about ourselves in the end reflection before us. Out of the frying pan and into the fire was an understatement, but I will survive…and I realize now how much I still have to learn about relationships with other professionals and how I can learn to rationally think about multiple perspectives within a limited time frame. I actually think I was overcomplicating the entire process, when I could just simply ask myself or someone else what they would do or consider in my shoes.  

Our discussions this week focused on how we frame things; are we framing them in the right light, in a myopic nature, are we framing the material presented as a risk or opportunity purely for our own gain, or forgetting to look through the frames of others? As our reading pointed out this week, "Being unaware of our frames poses an enormous risk" (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001, p. 125). Some of the dangers encountered include the oversimplification of information, reinforcement of ego and overconfidence, as well as the limited ability for self-correction (Hoch et al, 2001, p. 125). Upon reflection of this week, I was definitely guilty of oversimplifying information and in my discussions with others. Although the results were not catastrophic, I do feel the weight of the world on my shoulders. I need need need to learn that times of crisis do not excuse lack of consistent rational thinking and learning to trust the thought process of others. The chapter for the week regarding frame blindness couldn’t have come at a better time.

Three pertinent ways in which we can avoid frame blindness include understanding the frames of others, retraining my focus to incorporate multiple frames, identify inadequate frames, and the use of the multiple frame technique.

By learning to refocus our frames towards the frames of various stakeholders, we are able to identify the potential for conflict and myopia. Recently to stifle a patient complaint, I asked what I could do to assist one of our directors. I was then asked us to write-off their balance and "just make them go away". However, because they were only focused on making the patient happy, they failed to realize that action would be a compliance violation butting us as risk not only for an audit, but to lose future revenues by voiding our contract with the insurance company. How the frame could change in the future is by asking additional questions prior to just getting down to the requested action. That way I have enough information and time to formulate a mutually beneficial and compliance appropriate response that will still appease all aspects of the business and patient satisfaction needs. The risk to my initial question only caused additional frustration, but taught me that reframing my question or presentation of solutions can be critical to others thought process and expectations of my actions.

Another instance where I can avoid a frame trap would be making the time to identify inadequate frames. Often due to time and labor constraints, I do not have the time to reflect upon the decisions that I make; I only get feedback if the same issue with a patient, physician, or claim reemerges. Therefore, by teaching myself to think beyond "does your current frame get the job done" is going to save time in the long run and expand my knowledge base so that it becomes fluent and not regurgitation (Hoch et al, 2001, p. 132). I need to pause and ask myself if I have tested my frame ideas with an outside objective party, or have I considered key stakeholders during my information gathering and filtering? In doing this reflection, I would be able to identify if my current frame is relevant and also evaluate and challenge some of the "...deeper assumptions that underlie..." my frame (Hoch et al, 2001, p. 133). This technique would have been helpful during the recent departure of a key executive this week. Although I like learning by being thrown into the fire, by finding the first solution that worked and seemed to have stuck while trying to identify areas of missed revenues, I may have overlooked a $356,000 account. One person that was helping during the month end process, a very knowledgeable peer, pitched in and hit the ground running with reports. We were desperate to prepare the reports to see where our P&L stood. This sounded great in theory because the person assisting is a genius and I wouldn't have to go over their work; I had my own fires to put out and new work assignments to be completed. More importantly on my list was to be able to learn from their valuable presence while here helping our team. However, once I changed my frame after the hustle was low enough for me to think, I went back to review the accounts, just as I would every other month. What I found was they overlooked and made false assumptions about the account. The next challenge was finding a way to question about their methodology and logic to pass over the revenue impact I could clearly see was available to us. If I had stuck with only the frame of do whatever to get the job done, I would have ignored the frame that is most important to me, which is to get it right and never overlook the chance to learn something new from someone. In this case, I should remember that what I always do which has worked over time may just get me by...but not make the impact and consistent splash I would like to be known for and relied upon with my peers. Shifting frames in the slightest manner helped us save negative month end impacts.

Lastly, by using multiple frames, it welcomes the views and participation of others. Our business, and the success of leaders, is highly dependent on the relationships we build with one another. By getting the views of others, it not only builds rapport, but also sheds light on areas that we only dream to know about and understand. By using multiple frames, it can encourage and empower others to share their expertise, prior experience, as well as challenge my limited thought on the subject matter. For example, during this week, because of our executive upheaval, I naturally felt that my area of the month end process would be most dramatically impacted, as we worked in tandem to accomplish the entire process. However, in thinking this, I also neglected to acknowledge the decisions and guidance that needed to be given to peripheral departments in need of support. When I started having a myriad of front-line people asking questions I had no idea about, it then would have dawned on me how selfish I was to think I would be the only one sinking or swimming without our leader. Using multiple frames sheds light on additional processes, people, and areas that are greatly interdependent on one another and how asking for expert advice is not a sign of weakness. I felt like it was expected I had all the answers; I know enough to get by, but I don't know everything! Now that I realize how much I do not know, I am excited about the opportunity I am going to have to learn from others about their areas and roles within our organization. This will help me, and my relationships flourish...but more importantly, continue to build my larger network of formal and informal support staff experts.

Another great week in the books can't wait to see what is around the next corner!

 Until we blog again!

Reference

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H. C., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton On Making Decisions. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Week Six - Transformational Strategies

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

George Bernard Shaw

Well, this module centered around eating and shopping…I mean…was about organizational transformation and  our focus was on exploring how various interventions for change can impact our organizations and teams…but not all were pleasant. Take for example, Home Depot and how myopia led Nardelli’s action plans straight towards “…unintended consequences…” (Brown, 2011, p. 400); it is not always what we are trying to do as leaders, so much as how we go about doing it. 

We have to remember that when approaching planned changes for our teams, we have to focus on the time duration of the change, the degree of culture embedded within the environment, as well as the level of support and discontinuity taking place (Brown, 2011, p. 401). In comparison, our text demonstrates ways in what we should do when attempting to bring about organizational transformation, whereas our videos this week touch more on the how and why we should actually attempt to do it.

For example, take how Gallery furniture used and combined and complementary interventions in order to change their strategies to met changing needs. By revamping personal and organizational goals to align with one another, they were able to teach leaders to coach their teams up, offer computer training and other technology needs, and to revise ways that incentive pay, constant feedback and recognition were communicated. These strategies not only changed the leader and employee behavior, but also led towards increased revenue, positive recognition from consumers, and a more customer and employee friendly environment. All of these have impacted the business in positive ways (VitalSmarts Video, 2012).

Moreover, as McChrystal contends in his video discussion, and I would have to agree, the most amazing leaders have the greatest impact by letting us fail, but not allowing us to feel like a failure (McChrystal, 2011). I also agree that he is absolutely right, “…the speed, the scrutiny, the sensitivity…” (McChrystal, 2011) that surrounds us today has created a much different and demanding type of environment in which we must learn to function and collaborate in. it comes faster than we have time to reflect and respond to (McChrystal, 2011). We have to use everything we can, including complex technologies, to lead others in many different facets to establish and often restore trust and “…build their faith…” (McChrystal, 2011). This is necessary to build consensus and a “…sense of shared purpose and shared consciousness…” while balancing distance and generational gaps and a multitude of various skill sets (McChrystal, 2011). As leaders, this is something we can all relate to in our daily lives.

Additionally, how leaders stay “…credible and legitimate…” is by learning to be transparent, listening more to all levels and rankings, as well as learn to make contributions to our teams that are cumulative not repetitive (McChrystal, 2011) and nurture personal relationships. They are requirements…the oxygen necessary in keeping our organizations focused, committed, and forward moving, but most importantly…alive.

Until we blog again!

References

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development, Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

McChrystal, S. (2011, March). Listen, learn ... then lead. Retrieved from ted.com: http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal

VitalSmarts Video. (2012, September 17). Influencer | Gallery Furniture Video Case Study. Retrieved from YouTube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E20RW75Fhu4#t=152

Week Five - Leading System Wide Change

Move out of your comfort zone.

You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.

-        Brian Tracy

This week has been long…longer than most, but incredibly productive. Well, unless you consider our team project. But that is an entirely different tale to tell on another day. Back to two classes and being simultaneously engaged and active always stresses me out, but I realize it is my own undoing there. I just want to be sure I don’t miss a thing. For example, in my 632 class this week, we touched on the emotional side of decision making and reasoning. How much can I simplify my life at this point…easier than one would think…remove the emotional elements from the equation of your decision making process, and see how much clarity you really have before you…only then will you be able to truly appreciate how overly complex we all making many areas in our daily lives. 

One highlight this module was watching one of my most favorite Apple videos, “Think Different”! I absolutely am one of the few people I know in my organization that sees things differently; pretty much everyone I work with has worked at our facility for many, many years – some people have spent over 25 years working at our hospital. I have usually seen myself throughout my life as the round peg being forced into the square hole, but I don’t mind.

From a work perspective, with the amount of responsibilities we each are tasked with encompassed with an ever declining capital budget, the status quo is what we know and what many of my peers are willing to accept. I am constantly pushing the envelope to try new things, ask new question, and push people beyond their comfort zones…which usually makes me considered more of the villain than the hero with many people I work with. However, I know it is all worth it when I, and the senior management team, can see the fruits of our labor and the results we can achieve as a team when we really focus and exhaust all of our options together. Even in the simplest of things, I find pleasure.

For example, around this time last year, I accepted a promotion which came along with my own office. The office, however in all of its unfound glory, was an old radiology closet and is a very bizarre shape. So bizarre that it actually has a homemade desk to sit at to fit the space and had homemade box shelving that used to hang on the walls above my head so that there was some sort of storage/ bookshelf to use in it. When I first moved in, the Plant Operations department offered to paint it and purchase new a new seat and desk for me. I said that would be fantastic…but in my heart I felt awkward. The plans they showed me did offer new furniture, however it was smaller and more unusable than what I currently resided in. And it cost a lot of money. I was also concerned that there would be a perception that the new found power went to my head…just got the new job and already remodeling.

On the same token, I wasn’t really sure what I truly needed and what I truly wanted. Then last week, one of my close friends was promoted to Assistant Chief Nursing Officer. She already had an office, but would be moving to a new one…and she wanted it painted and spiffy prior to her arrival, which I completely understand. After helping her “remodel and redecorate” and select paint for her space, I decided it was time to do mine as well – make it my own; comfortable, usable, and inviting. So I began looking for furniture and paint. Later that week our CFO stated we were dangerously close to missing budget for the end of the year and there would be no unnecessary spending. At first I thought to myself, "so much for my new office", but then I figured why not ask if there was already left over paint from other recent renovations around the facility. If the color could work and there was enough, at least I could paint the place. Then I simply requested them to take down the home made shelves and I could possibly re-purpose them on my own. Just having them down would make me happy enough!

Then, when they were being taken down, another director inquired if I was going to keep them or if she could take them for her department. I instantly said she could have them - I didn't really want them and someone else could use them, so why not! At that point, it gave me the idea to inquire if any other directors had small bookcases in their department that they would like to donate or trade for. I ended up finding an older bookcase with storage underneath that worked perfectly for the space I had in the back of my office. I was on a roll, and as it turned out, the color I liked best out of the choices available happened to be onsite from a left over remodel in our labor and delivery department. With a few personal touches brought in from home, new paint, and trading unused shelves for a second hand bookcase, my office feels perfect and finally like my own!

Although I was told "no spending", most people would have continued to wait and become frustrated by not getting what they wanted and when they wanted it. By thinking outside of the norm, and asking questions that most would have overlooked in their thought process, I ended up being the crazy one...everyone that passes my office could not believe the transformation that had taken place, especially considering there was no approved spending. When people asked me what my secret was to getting it done, I simply stated I revamped my thought process and asked a new set of questions in a different manner to find out what was available to meet my needs and still color only slightly out of the lines. I guess you could say I did my own process reengineering to not only revamp how I approached the constraints placed by management, but also to rethink the resources we currently had and how I could use what was already available to me. The difference is that dreamers like me never give up on finding a better way that meets everyone's needs but still manages somehow to pull things together in order to get the job done. I think that because my core values and beliefs are slightly different, it allows for me to develop creative and innovative solutions and critical thinking standards that are different those of my peers (Brown, 2011, p. 377).

Until we blog again!

Reference

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development, Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Week Four - INSEAD Reflection

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.

-       Michael Jordan

It is really hard to believe that we are basically half way through the semester and turkey day and the rest of the holidays are peeking their heads around the corner. Overall it was a fantastic week; I had to work incredibly hard at it finding balance. My husband is doing much better after his final procedure, which is fantastic, but the brain drain and schedule at work has been dare I say, almost overwhelming. So many things to deal with and fires to put out, that no matter how hard I worked and how many hours I put in, it didn’t leave much energy in the hopper to finally feel caught up yet. Now with my next class starting today, and I haven’t even reviewed more than the syllabus to see the enormous and insurmountable amount of work required, I am about to wave the white flag and call “uncle”. But like all things, I always seem to figure out a way; I just don’t want to sell myself short on the gift of knowledge that lay before me. I often wish I was one of those people who were just taking classes for the sake of taking classes, but then I would miss out on all sorts of cool ideas.

For example, we discussed and worked on a great deal of our module on self-managing teams, TQM, and characteristics of successful leadership and teams. One of the recurring themes I have definitely seen is the importance of the strong partnerships and nurtured relationships for any and every level of teams to exist. There has to be structure and culture supporting a team atmosphere, which is blatantly obvious, but if leaders aren’t walking the walk and providing the support and encouragement necessary for teams to bloom and work autonomously to accomplish mutual goals, it really is just a waste of peoples time and resources. I completely love the idea that teams should be comprised of various areas to be most effective, but I realize that not everyone shares the same notion.

Before I touch on some of the drawbacks, I have to say that one of the best benefits in my mind is that a self-managing team has the diverse knowledge and expertise behind their decision making process. More importantly, however, is the added benefit that they have the “…formal responsibility and authority…” (INSEAD, 2008) to make decisions on how they do their work and what they need in order to make it happen. Normal supervisors and management don’t exist; they are the ones showing us that the flatter organizational structure can work. The coolest thing about them is the spirit and impact of the leader doesn’t come from direction and delegation, but interaction and innovation guidance to help the team achieve necessary benchmarks and obtain the resources necessary to achieve common strategic goals for the benefit of everyone.

I absolutely love the idea of managing work and not people, and I love the idea of sharing best practices and problem solving, so working within such a team sounds very exciting and like home to me. I love the premise behind the team is inherently based upon mutual trust and goals, as well as a shared emphasis on working collaboratively amongst the group to find the best outcome that suits the entire organizational structure and goals, as well as become masters at self-organizing their work and priorities as a united group. It is also very exciting to think about the high level of leadership and trust required in which these teams are able to perform autonomously; it seems to me that it would be a great privilege to be able to be part of something so special. Clearly it requires a great deal of “…unique strengths, roles, and responsibilities to get to that point…” (INSEAD, 2008) and without effective and supportive leadership, I don’t believe that the team could actually become a reality in any organization.

I do realize, however, that this idea won’t work in every type of organization and that various managers or even team members may have a very different idea of what is and isn’t a top priority. Moreover, some of the best workers I know are experts in their areas, but have rather poor performance once placed in a group setting or on team projects. Most people don’t like conflict and don’t like being told what to do and how to do it, especially if they are seen as the experts, right? So, I can see how some really terrific workers would be almost feeling punished by working on teams such as this.

For example, in healthcare, we have a great deal of compliance and regulatory issues. So when nursing wants to change something, they cannot just have a meeting and change something. It must be reviewed by the compliance officer, nursing administration, risk management, quality, hospital administration, legal, the union, and the list goes on and on. It wouldn’t matter if we had a representative from each area on the actual team to say yes it sounds good and make the change, as there are too many conservative external regulatory boards that do not make changes an overnight success, regardless of how simple in nature they may be at face value. As our readings this week pointed out, there is no price you can put on when establishing a team that has the diversity required and the authority needed in order to give the team “…the ability to move around the bureaucratic organization and get the job done” (Brown, 2011, p. 349)   

Some of the competencies needed to develop to be an effective external manager of a self-managed work team would include ensuing that goals are a critical starting point to establish any team and for any team to measure success. Key points our reading demonstrated as well was the need for developing strong partnerships between team members and management, sharing information openly and quickly, and that the overall environment, culture, and “the structure of the organization…is based on team concepts” (Brown, 2011, p. 350).

From a leadership perspective, I think that our video pointed out that mature teams help others understand the goals in a visionary way that excite everyone to contribute towards common efforts, even when failures take place (INSEAD, 2008). 

Team leaders must also feel secure with the level of KSA’s that comprise the team as a whole; micro-management would never work in a situation such as this (INSEAD, 2008) and would inherently go against building team independence and natural dynamics. Additionally, flexibility and an emphasis on developing high-quality working relationships in combination with SMART goals allows for the team to work within boundaries without requiring constant supervision and input from internal and external team leaders. Patience and persistence appears that they would be a winning combination for these teams; allow disagreements to happen, and allow others to find “authority balance” to use interventions that allow for appropriate team development to take place (INSEAD, 2008). Lastly, to find balance in leadership; provide guidance, but respect individual contributions to encourage reciprocation and growth towards new and exciting ideas (INSEAD, 2008).

Overall, I found this chapter incredibly helpful, as our CM this week…although I usually feel when mapping the chapters are a waste…it provided so many excellent bullet points…I wouldn’t be able to just take one idea and run with it very far…and they are all very interconnected as well. I am surely looking forward to our next team assignment in module 5, as I think we have addressed several key concerns, and I am anxiously waiting to see how far we have come in a short amount of time.

Until we blog again!

References

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development, Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

INSEAD. (2008, September 22). Self-managing teams: debunking the leadership paradox. Retrieved from Youtube.com: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBnR00qgGgM

Week 3 - Feedback and Goals

We all need people who will give us feedback.

That's how we improve.

- Bill Gates

Week three, and it was a trying, yet triumphant one. Although it may have been plagued by personal and professional overload, at the end of the day, I feel that I handled it well. I didn’t find myself engaging in overly emotional reactions to others despite the fact that there was so much work to be done and my husband was 1,800 miles away being admitted to the hospital for acute renal failure due to kidney stones lodging in his bladder and urethral tubes. I think that the testing of what I could handle and how I would react…especially after the turbulence I endured at work last week was somewhat monumentally successful! Although I was mentally worn out, I set goals for myself to focus on the work that needed to be completed, the preparation of what was required to transport my husband from Las Vegas back to Florida in order for him to receive surgery and post-operative care, as well as conclude several small projects that continued to land on my desk to the lacking professionalism that continues to take place in adjacent departments. The projects were turned in, the results provided timely, and in addition and most importantly, as of today, my husband is home and recovering well!

This week we found that feedback and goal-setting truly should be considered as two parts of the same dynamic. As our reading provided for thought this week, “…giving feedback on performance without having…goals does not lead to improved performance” (Brown, 2011, p. 321). Moreover, feedback that is specific, timely, and given in a manner that provides relevancy is essential towards achieving optimal results in relation to goal setting and is a necessary condition in which we cannot ignore the correlation between the two (Erez, 1977). In fact, one would be able to easily argue the absurdity that exists in which one would be willing to set goals and not seek out or provide feedback; it would be an exercise in complete utility to not be able to see how one directly impacts the other, and vice versa.

For example, how would athletes be able to train without knowing what benchmarks to try to accomplish? How would students be able to demonstrate understanding of scholastic materials and achievement without grades? How would we know when our temperature was demonstrating the fighting of a disease, virus, or bacteria if we didn’t have a normalized core body temperature of 98.6 degrees? Without knowing what is expected, there is no way in which we are able to measure or balance our efforts towards what we are attempting to achieve. As our reading unfolded to us, “frequent, relevant, and specific feedback is important for goal setting to be a success” (Brown, 2011, p. 321), and in the absence of feedback from others, we have no way in which for our efforts to be managed, coached, or weighed towards what we are trying to accomplish.

I know that when I am working out on a regular basis, and at the end of our nine-week training cycle, I have a number in my mind…my magic number…in which is what I am aiming to hit on our max-effort 1 time lift the following week. I know exactly how it feels when I set out to deadlift 200-pounds and was able to pull 225-pounds off the floor for the very first time---it was exhilarating and fascinating to think I wasn’t even going to make it to 200, let alone in one last try, somehow and someway I managed to lift 25 more pounds along the way! I guess, although I didn’t set out to have that specific number in mind, I approached the lift in such a way that allowed me to feel that my magic number is 200, and anything else I managed to pull off the ground was bonus. This gave me a goal, but not the limitation towards talking myself out of doing more if I was physically able to do so.

Additionally this week, our concept mapping project was a great one; I am now able to reflect upon and see that there is a difference when goal setting for motivational goals, versus task related goals (Locke, 1996). For example, the harder the goal we set, the greater we feel when we are able to achieve this (Locke, 1996), and likewise, the more specific the goal we set, the easier it is for us to regulate our behaviors and actions, as well as evaluate our efforts towards the goal (Locke, 1996). However, it is not enough just to set a specific goal and make sure it is challenging, we have to be willing to encompass “techniques for coaching and providing feedback” (Milwaukee County).

Feedback is going to be essential, not just in our professional lives as emerging leaders, but also our personal lives as we encounter we wish to encounter ongoing growth and change. Feedback, when done correctly, is a mutual give and take exchange of information between two people, not just a manager and subordinate (Milwaukee County). Feedback can actually reduce ambiguity, retrain focus, help coach and develop others, as well as “identify what is blocking the employee from goal attainment” (Milwaukee County). From this week forward, I think it would be impossible for me to see goals and feedback as a mutually linked GPS that will help me land exactly where I am trying to be…setting my horizon in the distance and finding the optimal steps and routes to take to get there. The GPS not only shows where you are going, but where you have been, what route you have taken along the way to get where you are going, and how much farther you have until you reach your ideal destination.

I do agree that Brown’s generational theory holds water based upon personal experience. Where I am chomping at the bit as a member of Generation-X to have people show me, tell me, explain to me, more and more…I have found that the older we get, the more set in our ways we are. This hesitation or ignorance that some of us experience (maybe intolerance is more appropriate) comes from doing things over and over and over again the same way, and when nobody is giving us feedback regarding it, we think or feel we are doing great things, otherwise, wouldn’t have someone mentioned it years ago?

Although I am big enough to admit that my need for feedback comes from a performance driven metric and an internal desire to please and impress others for approval, I realize that not everyone wants to be told along the way, “hey…you may do better if you…”. I realize that it is mostly in the approach and need for consistency, but at the end of the day, I think I will always be one of those people that prefers to know exactly where I stand with, and in the eyes of, others.

Until we blog again!

References

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development, Eight Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Erez, M. (1977). Feedback: A Necessary Condition for the Goal Setting-Performance Relationship. Journal of Applied Psychology, 624-627.

Locke, E. A. (1996). Motivatin through conscious goal setting. Applied & Preventative Psychology, 117-124.

Milwaukee County. (n.d.). A Guide for Goal Setting and Employee Feedback. Milwaukee, WI.

Week Two - Cooperation and Competition

The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.

-       Vince Lombardi

End of week two, and it has been emotionally draining to say the least. Although we have a great deal of information offered to us throughout the MSLD program, and the support and resources provided  by our coaches and mentors while we travel through this journey, I am finding that the real world applications transpire in a much different manner.

This week I was once again faced with stress pertaining lacking teamwork and workflow constraints...while I planned a well thought out conference call by being the voice of what I considered reason and concern, turned into a teeth kicking session by upper management. Somehow in my approach, while I am thinking others are just listening to behind-closed-doors venting about issues and people, somehow gets interpreted as personality conflict and unprofessionalism with others. They seem to have thought that I would ever outwardly express or treat another peer or employee with the same animation and vigor as I use to describe my frustrations. So while that entirely backfired, I looked at it as an opportunity to once again reset my goals and focus, but more importantly savor some interesting, although flawed interpretations, feedback. By the end of the call, I had the opportunity to at least point out that when I have conversations behind closed doors, that is exactly where it stays - there is NO WAY our management stands for unprofessionalism and confrontation in the workplace and that I never would have been tolerated over the past six-plus years here, let alone given the opportunity to sit where I do today if that is how I conducted business with others in the facility. I then further stated that one thing I can do better is to re-quantify that I am just venting and emotionally vomiting so that they have an alternative perception to things, considering these folks aren't working in the business office with me, as they are remote regional managers. They said that would definitely help. Now I am just suffering the attitudes, lacking professionalism, and retaliation that those who weren't performing their daily functions and now have been spoken to are lashing out at me for it.

I feel bad that it always seems to yield that result; I know I shouldn't feel bad for just doing my job, and I realize that as a leader, I will face so many challenges and ways to handle them. But I am thinking that sometimes I am just going to have to let others houses go up in flames instead of trying to prevent the fires before the outbreak. I cannot always be the only voice, as now it appears that other's tend to see me as the squeaky wheel...I just want things to stay on track and people to get along and be happy and productive while they do it...but I have to realize that not everyone shares that vision, and to be able to still find balance for myself when others wish not to participate.

One small victory this week did however conclude with our first team assignment completed, and done so ahead of schedule and turned out with a very nice grade for all of us on it. The process we used was simple in nature, as the assignment was more about coordination than collaboration this week. We used emails and the discussion boards to communicate and set forth goals. This worked very well for us, considering time and geographical challenges. We I think one thing that helped our group behaviors was early on we set up expectations, agreed on open communication, and all checked behind one another to keep ourselves on track and focused to meet our deadlines. No one person overtook the group, but all of us took the lead on different aspects which were very complimentary throughout the process.

One problem we had was that we had one member that misunderstood when the groups would be formed and start; in this case we initially believed that someone on our team may have dropped the class because it was entirely out of character for this student to be a non-participant in the group activity aspect. After emailing and chatting, we realized her portion was missing and she immediately jumped into things and helped us produce what we felt was a terrific end product for the team. Our intervention strategy on this was decided as a group to first make some final attempts at reaching out via direct emails. Next, our backup plan was to reach out to the professor to confirm attendance in the class. Our last initiative included a deadline for the team to have all group projects completed by Friday of the week of the assignment to allow for one day review and revision, and still allow us to meet our class deadline of submission for Sunday's. This schedule was reasonable and approved by all, and also gives us the opportunity to send drafts to Matt when necessary for additional guidance and input. At this point with a simple assignment, we didn't appear to have issues surrounding power, competition, or collaboration. In fact, we have already begun construction and task assignments for our next deadline.

Our team seems to communicate clearly, effectively, and efficiently - which is a welcomed change from prior semesters. As our assignments increase in complexity as the semester progresses, I am sure there is room for conflicts, personality conflicts and challenges to emerge. Right now I would classify our dynamics more along the lines of integrating, as we problem solve and communicate with the purpose of all being focused towards sharing information and reaching consensus (Brown, 2011, p. 301). My team is outstanding, hard working, easy to communicate with, and we currently haven't experienced any role ambiguity which after the week I have had, was almost as good as celebrating Christmas early!

This weeks chapter couldn't have come at a better time; I hope that it will help me mature and grow along the way into finding approaches that are more receptive to others and that transform their perceptions about things people don't ever want to hear...like I need you to please do your job because it's preventing the rest of us in completing ours...I never like being the messenger and I worked incredibly hard to demonstrate continuity in my words, examples, and behaviors. But I always know I can learn from every difficult situation I either put myself in or that somehow seems to come my way.         

Until we blog again!

Reference

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organizational Development, Eighth Edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.