A521.6.3.RB - High Performance Teams

Denning breaks down the most important elements of high-performance teams as follows:

·         enthusiastically shaping expectations and then exceeding these outputs

·         quickly adjusting the performance to the needs of the situation

·         group grows stronger

·         individual performances grow stronger as well

·         purpose of the team become more gallant as goals become more powerful

·         team carries out work with shared passion

In my department we do work closely together though we have not officially worked on a high performance team we do exhibit most of these elements on any even day.  For example, as a group we work hard to make sure that we exceed the expectations that our director sets for us (making sure the students accounts are correct, calls are being answered, emails returned, tickets answered in Parature).  We work hard to make our individual performances better to be aligned with what our director sets forth for us.  We have a motto in our department “One team One dream” and we strive to maintain this motto every day not just for ourselves but for our department.   

When a counselor is out we come together to make sure that the counselors queues are worked and that tickets are answered quickly.  We adjust to the needs of the situation so that no one falls behind in their work and this helps us grow stronger as a team.  Our shared passion for getting the work done is seen whenever our director comes up to see us and ask how we are doing.  He watches our interactions and how we work together to handle issues and work through problems we have with an account or even the new system.  We do these things for each other without being asked to do so and this shows that we are committed to each other and to our common goal of providing the best customer service possible.

When it comes to shared values it is important that everyone is on the same page.  Collaboration is relies on these shared values and if everyone is not sharing the same values the team will suffer for it.  I believe that in our department we have this shared value as a group. We work well together about 95% of the time and we even joke that we are a family because we spend 8 hours a day together 5 days a week and see each other more than our families at times.  Sometimes we don’t agree and when this happens we come together to work it out and try to work out our differences so that we are on track once again with our common goals. We see the positive outcome this has and we don’t have to involve our director with silly little disagreements.

The influence of having shared values is that we make a point of working together and being a part of something that is bigger than the individual.  We are all here to make sure the student is given the best advice, understands the regulations and how they apply to the student, getting and keeping them on the right plan so that they can graduate and occasionally just being there to listen to them express their frustrations.  We all want to see the student succeed because at the end of the day that is what it is all about.

There are 4 patterns of working together to include:

·         Work group (similar work tasks and reporting to same supervisor)

·         Team (defined responsibilities and interaction between members)

·         Community (self-organizing, leadership is shared by the volunteers within the community)

·         Network (large group of people who meet to discuss various ideas but do not meet face to face)

In a work group everyone has very similar tasks to complete but there is not much need for collaboration within this setting.  The goal is the get the work done and everyone reports to the same supervisor.  A positive experience with this is that everyone stays on task to get the work done and the work load is pretty evenly distributed so that is not an overload on any one person.  A negative experience with this is that there is no desire to work together and perhaps collaborate on ways to improve as individuals and as a group.  In my department we do function as a work group however we also display many of the characteristics of team and community.  A solution to this would be to come together and discuss better ways to work as a group and every one make a suggestion that would improve our work.  We can vote on what would work better for us as a group.

In a team setting the goals are clear and everyone knows what they are responsible for and there is much interaction between team members and this will adjust to the situations and work load with the common goal of that team.  The team will work on strengthening the weak areas and do this together.  A positive experience of this is that you get to know the members of your team very well and you work together for the common goal as a group not as an individual.  A negative experience would be that depending on the work a team may not be the best way to go.  In my department we work as a team however we each have certain responsibilities that would not work in the team environment due levels of security access that not every counselor has in the new system.  As managers we are required to run certain reports daily and do overrides that not everyone has access to.  A solution to this would be to do some cross training on these areas so that each person understands how these reports work and come up with a way that perhaps part of the report could be worked together as a team (broken down by regions so each counselor has some control over what is happening with their region) this way everyone feels involved in the process.

In a community setting, individuals from different backgrounds come together to work on a common goal.  Not everyone will have the same views but it is an opportunity to see things from different perspectives and perhaps come up with a better solution.  In this setting a group would meet at the same time, same place once a week, month or year. A positive experience would be that you can get some different views on a subject matter that perhaps makes more sense become each person is looking at the situation in their own way and they can bring something fresh to the table.  Meeting like this can help foster progress on a common goal of a department.  A negative experience to this would be letting things get in the way of meeting and collaborating on issues.  This is something that I am experiencing right now in my department.  We have a community group that meets once a week to discuss issues and solutions in the new CS program.  We were meeting regularly but for the past few weeks we have not met because of deadlines and it has thrown the feel of the community off.  A solution to this would be to analyze this community group and decide if once a week is too often or if there is no longer a need for this group and dismiss it for good or elect to come together at the start of the new academic year.

In a network setting you can have many individuals who meet via chat rooms or other networks to discuss various ideas or interests without the need to meet face to face.  A positive experience of this would be that you can do this from the comfort of your office and you can share experiences with many other people all over the world.  A negative experience to this would be that there are no interpersonal relationships so there is not a real connection to each other and it may be easier to not be involved as much as one should be.  An example of this would be team assignments in our class.  I think that because there are no interpersonal relationships and no real connection to each other than the class it is easy to slack off and not be a part of that network.  A solution would be to break the groups up by interests or similar work interests (though this will not foster a community) or make the groups smaller.

A521.5.8.RB Value Narrative

Before the operations center came on board back in January of 2010, the calls were answered by student assistants who on average took about 200 calls a day.  Sometimes students would be on hold for close to 2 hours before they were able to speak to an actual human being.  The financial aid office was not operating to the best of its abilities to satisfy the customer.  Many students were not getting their financial aid in a timely manner which meant that they were not taking classes and this affected enrollment which affected profitability and targeted goals for many campuses that relied on these enrollments.

In order to provide quality customer service the operations center took over our 800 number and began taking calls 24/7.  This meant that calls would be answered within 3 minutes and most of the students questions would be answered in a timely manner. What couldn’t be answered would be escalated to our office and the escalation would be answered within 24-48 hours.  This was much better than the 2-3 week wait for a return phone call from a voicemail.

At first the operations center was met with resistance from the students of all people!  They thought they were talking to people in another country (think of Peggy from the Capital One commercials) and would call financial aid directly to say that someone was impersonating our university.  There were even a few who felt it should go back to the way it was before even though the operations center had increased enrollment because students were able to get their issues resolved in a timely manner these few didn’t like change. 

 Now that the operations center was under way was it making a difference?  Data was analyzed and more training was conducted and still is today to better service the customer.  It was clear that the operation center taking the calls outweighed the few problems that came with it (sometimes going over budget for the month in calls, continuous training that is required) and the increase in financial aid paid out, increase in enrollment and prospective students proved this.

The purpose of the operations center is continue the values that ERAU WW has and that is to provide the best possible service and education to its students.  By finding a way to improve services to the student not only did ERAU listen to the students who said that there had to be a better way but they took action to follow through.  There has been a 20% increase in enrollment (due to students receiving their aid faster) because of the operations centers.  Many other departments have now taken our lead and utilize the operations center to help increase student satisfaction and this in turn promotes our integrity to provide the best service possible.  

A521.5.4.RB - Aligning Values

Everyone hopes that they work for an organization that has the general idea of what being ethical is about and that they in turn expect the same type of ethical behavior from their employees.  Is that organization just about making money or do they really care about their customer and their employees as a whole?  Does the organization hold simple truths about who they are so that everyone is aware of them?  I believe my organization does this as well as my department.

In chapter 6, Transmit Your Values Denning talks about three basic elements of ethics:

·         Trust: idea that we will engage and behave ethically toward each other

·         Loyalty: to the organization and fellow employees within that organization a commitment to not fail that trust while doing their said duties to the organization

·         Solidarity: taking an interest and genuine concern for other people and taking action on behalf of your fellow coworkers even if is not in line with your personal interests

These components I feel are important in any setting not just in business but in a personal setting as well.  Who doesn’t want trust, loyalty and solidarity?  In the organization world it can be the glue that holds a business together and without it may well fall apart.

For my department I can say that we have these three basic but most important elements.   We must trust our director is going to do his best to get us the training materials we need to keep up with regulations, the space we need to be able to speak with students, and go to bat for us when he knows we are behind in our work. He has to trust that we not take advantage of him by constantly coming in late or leaving early, lying about our work, or not being truthful with our students.  He doesn’t have to always check that we are doing our work and that we are doing it correctly because he has faith and trust in our abilities. 

His trust in us shows in the many opportunities we are afforded (being able to work overtime when needed, traveling to conferences and campuses) and upper management sees this as well.  They are not asking him why we are doing what we do they are praising him for how well and efficiently we do our jobs and that we get a majority of our students paid their financial aid.

This trust leads us to loyalty because without trust there would not be any loyalty.  Our department has continued to experience growth in the last 4 years and we have had very little turnover since I started (we only lost a former director and one counselor because they didn’t adhere to these three basic components).  When there is talk of getting other positions within our department I get phone calls and emails from people in other departments and some who for other companies who want to come work for our department.  Not because financial aid is so much fun and challenging but because of that trust and loyalty that our department has for one another.

It can be seen on a daily basis when you walk by our area.  We work closely together and the common goal is to provide the best service possible for our customers—the students and campuses.  It is this trust and loyalty that makes our department cohesive in many ways.  If one of the counselors are out the others jump in and help.  There is no worry that someone’s work won’t get done because we trust each other to help out even if there is a conflict of personalities between counselors the director knows we will work together.  He doesn’t have to worry that the work will not get done.

The third component solidarity is something that we have but not to the degree that we should.  This is one area that as a department we must work on to make us stronger and more cohesive.    Because we work so closely some personalities do not mesh well though on the outside it is not something you may be able to spot right away.  Some of us truly care about the interests of others however there are a few that are only looking out for themselves and they will make a point of letting you know that they are helping you out just in case you forget.  It is not about trying to crush others to get ahead in the organization.  We are all in this together.

This is not what solidarity is about and there are some courses of action that are currently being taken to help in this area.  There will be a retreat with team building exercises that will hopefully bring us together as a team and make us more cohesive.  It will be a great chance to come together and get out some of these underlying issues that we have.  Once this is done the department will then truly be able to say that we are a genuinely ethical community.

As for the organization itself I think that solidarity is something that needs to be practiced across the board.  ERAU is one university though we have two main campuses (Daytona and Prescott) and the worldwide headquarters there is not the feeling of being one university.  For example, the state of the university address is split up so that Daytona has one and then WW has one.   Distance is not an issue as we are right down the street from the campus.  I believe that there needs to be some education about the differences but most importantly the similarities between the campuses.  We are one university and this needs to be conveyed to each campus.

There was a time when students were not told that worldwide was an option to get an education if they couldn’t afford to attend the main campuses.  The suggestion was to attend another college.  Why take money away from our own university?  This was because there was a lack of education in what ERAU had and still has to offer.  There is a new program that is starting next fall called the 2+2 where a student attends the worldwide campus for the first two years and then transfers to the Daytona campus for the last two years.  It is a first step but it needs to be pushed at all levels.  We are here for the same reason and that is to give students the best education possible.

A521.5.1.RB - Core Workplace Value Assessment

I have worked in the financial aid office for 4 years now and every day I still wake up excited to go to work.  I started as a counselor and have worked my way up to manager of direct loans and verifications as well as being the trainer for our call center.  I feel that this type of work really suits me well.  I get to problem solve, guide students, guide the counselors and expand my learning.  At the call center I get to interact with the agents and get their perspective.  At the same time they can ask me questions or get clarification on topics which in turn help with answering calls.

            When I apply for a job I try to think about what I want out of the position. For example, when I applied for my position at ERAU Worldwide I knew I wanted to work for ERAU again because of the benefits, summer hours, and chance of advancement.  I also knew that I wanted to be challenged and I did not know anything about financial aid and thought it would be a great addition to my knowledge base.  I heard about Worldwide and wanted to see how different it was from the residential campus.  The things I feel are important to me in any job I take are (based on the assessment I took):

·         To be challenged, working toward problem-solving

·         Have a balance with work and family, will there be time to explore both and be satisfied?

·         Job security (as much as one can hope for) and stability

·         Will what I do help others?

·         A fast work pace with variety

·         A chance for training and professional development that can lead to advancement within my department and/or the organization

·         Having the ability to make decisions and influence possible change for the better good of the department and organization overall

·         Great teamwork and developing great working relationships

I feel that these assessments are most important to my core values for my job.  ERAU holds its employees to a higher standard and I think that any job a person holds they too should hold that company to a higher standard as well.  A company needs to be about integrity, honesty, goals and values for its employees and its customers.  There can be some differences within an organization however.  These changes can be seen in different departments.  Certain directors may be only looking out for themselves and not the greater good of the organization only what the person feels they can get out of it such as financial gain, highly visible recognition.

My current position lines up nicely with the values of the organization.  My director gives us many opportunities to develop our professional skills with training and we get to help make decisions and most times are given the chance to be the one making the decisions as counselors.  As financial aid counselors we are constantly challenged and our roles are very fast paced.  Our job is to problem solve and our team is very close knit and we work well together most of the time.

There aren’t any differences in my values versus those of the organization.  The only big issue we face is that we do not have enough positions in our department so advancement is not easy to do at the moment as we are understaffed.  It can be frustrating when looking to move up within the department.  The one other issue would be that we need to be more “green” since it is something that the university is trying to move to it needs to be done across all aspects of the university not just the main campus.

A521.4.3.RB Subtleties of Communication and Hidden messages

            In chapter 4 Body Languages the authors talk about how more than 50% of our communication is nonverbal.  When you are around someone long enough you can pick up these nonverbal cues quickly.  I know that I am guilty of the incongruence when I am upset or stressed out at work. 

            For example, if I am working on a report that I know I have to get done as soon as possible and a coworker asks if I am busy because they need my help, I convey in my voice that I have plenty of time for them but my body language says something completely different.  When my voice is saying “sure I am glad to help” my shoulders slump and I find that I have to take a deep breath to calm my irritation down.  I am not irritated at my coworker but at my inability to get my work done.  My coworker may not know that I am being incongruent but I do.  If I can make myself more aware of this I can work on decreasing my anxiety and irritation.  I am the type of person who wears their emotions on their sleeve so you know when I am happy or upset just by my facial expression, tone of face and body language.  These are things that can always be improved upon by the exercises in the chapter.

            Body movements for me are another big one.  I gesture or “talk” with my hands a lot and use the nonverbal movements called illustrators.  When I am on the phone giving someone directions or explaining regulations I am actually gesturing as if the person on the phone can see me.  When I am describing something I will draw it out in the air with my hands.  My coworkers have tested me by making me sit on my hands and then talk.  I find that I become distracted and lose my train of thought.  I am not sure how much I can change in this area other than to try to control how much I use my hands by keeping them down by my sides or using smaller gestures.  I do find that it can either get and keep a person’s attention or it becomes a distraction because they are looking at my hands and not my face.  I try to read the person I am talking to and see if they are paying attention to what I am saying or if my gestures are distracting them and I will adjust to this by holding a pen or notepad in my hands to keep from getting carried away.

            One other area in chapter 4 that I found interesting was the proxemics or spatial relationships.  At work we are a close knit group so we mostly fall into the intimate and personal distance areas.  We touch when we talk to each other on the shoulder or arm and when we work on an issue together the personal space between us is very close.  I have noticed that when we converse with other groups we tend to be closer to them than they may be comfortable with and adjustments are made to get into a more comfortable zone with that group.  A big key to making sure I am not making others uncomfortable is to gage their body language and if they are being closed off I know I am too close.

            Chapter 5 Paralanguage and Metamessages was the most interesting for me because it involves vocal aspect of speech such as pitch, resonance, articulation, tempo, volume and rhythm.  I have noticed that when I talk on the phone I use resonance quite often.  When talking to a student who is angry I tend to make my voice a bit stronger to convey my firmness with them and I also articulate my words more and speak slower.  I also tend to soften my voice when I am talking to someone familiar on the phone.  I didn’t realize I did it until one of my coworkers pointed it out.  Then we decided to see if we each did it by listening to each other on the phone and sure enough we tend to change our tone and resonance when we speak to students or campuses on the phone to relate to that person.

            This goes with that saying that if you smile when you are on the phone the person on the other end can “hear” that smile as well and feel more comfortable with you.  If you are irritated it will come through in your voice.  This leads to tempo at which words are spoken.  I am very guilty of being a fast talker and anyone who has met me knows that when I get excited I talk faster.  I have been asked several times if I am from New York because of my fast tempo.  From the chapter I have realized that I also use this fast tempo when I am insecure.  When I think I am losing someone’s attention or I sense they are in a hurry I will talk faster so that I get everything in that I need to say.  I have been asked to slow down when explaining something because the listener couldn’t keep up with what I was saying.  I didn’t realize how fast I talk until I listened to a recording of myself that was used for orientation.  It was supposed to be a 5 minute explanation but I did it in 2 minutes.  Needless to say I had to slow down and do it several more times before it was at a tempo that everyone could follow.

             This is an area I know I need to work on.  One of the things I am trying to do is to slow down my breathing and pause between sentences and make a conscious effort to speak slower.  To my ears I sound like I am talking about as slow as a turtle walks but others find that they can follow my flow better.  When I doing training at our operations center I do make an effort to slow down and I ask if I am going too fast and adjust to my audience.  It is definitely a work in progress.

            One last area in chapter 5 I found interesting is the metamessages.  We may all be guilty of this from one time or another, however I have found after reading this section that there are certain people who do this all the time.  There is a coworker will spout out numbers on everything, “I have worked 100 emails today as well as 15 tickets, 20 call backs and I cleared 50 documents out of my queue.”  The emphasis is on this person and how much they have worked.  This tends to make others in the office feel as if we have done nothing all day long.  We have learned to not let it get to us but one has to wonder why this person feels the need to express themselves this way.  In this area I have done well to improve by not complaining or throwing out numbers as a compliant or gripe.  Yes we are all overloaded and stressed but making a point to complain about it in this way (metamessages) doesn’t do anyone any good.  Some people need to accolades so we let them do what they need to do to feel they are appreciated.

            Chapter 6 Hidden Agendas shed some light on not only me but some of my coworkers as well as family members.  For example, “I’m good” applies to a coworker who feels the need to talk about their wealth (my house is worth $650,000) any chance they get.  They will also make a point in telling their story to constantly paint themselves in a good light no matter what the situation is.  Of course no one is going to go out of their way to talk badly about themselves but I find that this agenda explains a lot about this person.  The agenda “you’re good (but I’m not)” reminds me of several people!  I used to be this way.  Always saying how good someone else was and how bad I was at a particular thing.  I don’t do this anymore but I hear it a lot from others.  For example, “you really understand this new system, I am never going to get it the way you do.”  This is usually followed by a request for help.  I find this as the chapter stated as an excuse to not adapt or change.  I suggest the best way to learn is to practice as that is how I learned.

            The last agenda I want to talk about is the “I’m Tough” agenda.  I read it and then had to reread it again.  This described me to the tee.  I have learned to do many things for myself so I have that chip on my shoulder that says “I don’t need you”.  I would rather fail at something than to ask for help because to me it shows weakness in myself.  I want to show that I am in control at all times.  This is something that I struggle with each day and I work hard to change this “I’m tough” persona. Admitting that I can’t do it all by myself is a big step for me in becoming a better communicator.  I joke at work that I need a sign that says “Confront me if I don’t ask for help”.  I believe my fear is that if I ask for help I will disappoint someone or they will lose faith that I can do it.  It is something that takes time and will be something that I will work on for the rest of my life.  These 3 chapters opened my eyes to different types of communicating and I hope to be able to read these signs better and use what I learned in each chapter to communicate better not only in my professional but personal life as well.          

A521.3.4.RB Personal Reflection

Everyone has a story about something that changed who they are as a person either for the better or worse.  I have two stories that have had a formative impact on who I am today and how I relate to others in my personal and professional life.  I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason and it is up to the individual person to find the positive in something that perhaps doesn’t have the outcome we wanted.

          My mom and step father went through a pretty ugly divorce in 1982 when I was around 12 years old.  My mom was dependent on my step father for many things, one being financial as he made more money than she did.  He also worked as a police officer so there was usually someone home to look after my brother, sister and myself.  When he left, he took the car, the TV, and many other household items that were necessary for us to live on.  This was done while we were visiting family in CT so when we came home to an almost empty house it was a big shock for us but especially for my mother. 

          My step father took it a step further and kidnapped my sister with the help other police officers and his family members.  He walked right into our house and picked up my sister (she was only 4 at the time) and used the lights as his signal that he had her and walked out the door with her while my mom tried in vain to keep him from taking her.  She got behind his car to try and stop him and was told by another cop that if she didn’t move out of the way he would arrest her. 

          We stood there as he drove off with my sister having no idea where he was taking her or if we would ever see her again.  Seeing the grief on my mom’s face is something I will never forget.  Soon after this she lost her job because she just couldn’t function and had no transportation. I had to become an adult at 12 years old.  I did everything I could to make sure that she ate so that she could keep up her strength while making sure that my brother and I still got to school and did what was needed including grocery shopping, homework, laundry, cooking, etc.

          After the initial disbelief that this could happen to us she pulled herself together and with the help of friends and family was able to get car and a new job.   She had to learn to do many things that she had always relied on someone else to do.  If there was a problem with the car, she figured out how to fix it.  She had to learn to become an independent person.  After a few months my step dad called my mom and told her he would bring back my sister.

          After this whole situation was over I saw my mom as a completely different person.  She was no longer dependent on anyone but she was also less trusting of people as well.  Watching my mom go through everything that she did and how it made her a stronger person whereas others would have given up has made me a big part of who I am today.  I know that I can’t let anything stop me from being the best that I can be.  That there are many people who are willing to help and will be there when the going gets tough.  The saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is something that I keep in my mind because of what we went through.

          From this experience I have learned that it is important to reach out for help when you need it and that though it is okay to depend on others it is also essential to know how to learn and adapt to new things (whether it is a new software program or new regulations).  It took me well into adulthood to understand this but it is something I carry with me every day as a reminder of how strong I am.

          In 1985, I was a sophomore in high school (around 15 years old) and I was a lost soul.  I hated school and swore that when I turned 16 I was dropping out.  I hated everyone and everything and no one could seem to get through to me.  Actually after a while everyone stopped trying to get through to me.  They said it wouldn’t matter and that I wasn’t going to amount to much anyway so why try? 

          My English teacher was a wise woman named Mrs. Meisch.  She had been a teacher for 20 years so she had pretty much seen it all.  She observed me for a few months before she tried to approach me one day during lunch.  Instead of lecturing me or putting me down she asked me how I was doing.  I didn’t even know how to respond to this.  Someone was talking to me and not at me for once.  She pushed my bangs out of my eyes so that she could see my face and she just talked to me.  She asked me about my life, my family, my friends, and why I was feeling that way I was.  No one else had done this. 

          She told me that I was the only person who could change me and that it didn’t matter what anyone else thought about me it only mattered what I thought about myself.  She found out that I had a love for dance and told me about auditions there at school for a dance troupe.  Her encouragement and positive outlook forced me to stop feeling sorry for myself and to do something about it.  I auditioned and made the dance troupe.  It was because of her that my outlook on school and life changed.  I stopped making myself the victim of my circumstances and did something about it.  This today is a big reason why I strive to be the best I can be.  I don’t let failures stop me from learning and growing.  I am not afraid of disappointing anyone else because I know I am giving my best and that is all anyone can ask for.  I maintain a positive outlook on everything as well.

          These two situations have had such a big impact on my life.  No one can change who you are only you can do that and only if you want to truly change for the better.  I had had many things shape who I am today, some good and some bad but throughout it all I have come out of it with a better understanding of who I am as a person and I learn, grow and adapt from them.  This has helped me become a better listener, problem solver, show compassion for others and a great team player in my organization.