MGMT 9.3 Course Reflections

This course was a great instrument for me in regards to some changes I want to make in my own communication styles. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me is the performance feedback communication. This is something that I have just begun to experience last few years and this year because of this class, I am going to change up how I conduct these. It is so easy to copy and paste items from past evals and give the same feedback each year and move on to the next meeting, phone call, training, etc. but I want to make an impact, to mentor to challenge my employees.

Today one of my coworkers came to me saying that she is struggling with what goals she should put down on her eval. After I asked her some questions I listened to what she was thinking and based on that I told her what goals she should put down. She felt good about it and I felt that I got something out of this as well. I don't want to just say, "yeah we can see what we can do about that" I want to actually help make a difference. On the other hand I have an employee who puts down exceeds on pretty much everything on her eval and what she feels she is exceeding on is exactly what her job is. How do I approach this? I am nervous to speak to her but I know that going over the eval with her and explaining ways she can actually take initiative, mentor, improve her communication skills will help her in the long run. I am also going to ask her where she sees herself in the department in the next few years...is she looking for promotions or just raises?  

Effective communication is another big one for me. In our department, we are always sending out email reminders about things that counselors have done incorrectly or dispelling rumors or misunderstandings that they may have. It appears that we need to make time to do some refresher training and spend more time mentoring and coaching our employees. I am going to start a monthly training so that the counselors have an opportunity to learn and in turn teach each other. 

I am excited to see what these changes will do for not only me but for our department as well. 

MGMT 8.3 Innovation

Being in higher education, our organization is always looking for ways to be more innovated, more creative to bring in more students to the university (Daytona, Prescott and Worldwide) as well as retaining these students. In my department, we are always looking for ways to keep students’ sensitive information safe when they are submitting documents to our office via email or fax. Our IT department does a great job of monitoring each of our systems and sending out information that keeps our cyberspace safe.

One way we found to help keep sensitive information safe (such as tax returns which have their social security numbers and bank information) when students need to submit documents to us was to create a secure upload with IT. No system is fool proof but using this new system will help decrease the chances of documents being compromised. Once we got this secure upload up and running, we had to get our staff, online advisors and campuses on board with this as well.

We met with our staff and encouraged them to let their students know that we had a new secure way to receive documents and we also sent out emails to all our campuses and advisors explaining the advantages to using this system. Before long, our campuses and students starting using this secure upload and the best part is that we get documents a lot faster now. Another improvement that we can make is on our Terms and Conditions form that each student must complete annually. Over the years we have tried to make the form easy to use but it seems to have confused our students even more. By improving this process, we are still moving toward innovation in our processes. Because our counselors are the ones who deal with students daily and they also review the forms they should be the ones to suggest improvements on the form. By giving the staff the opportunity to suggest a better form, we will be promoting creativity among our staff.

As I stated in my discussion this week, I would like to improve communications with our team by seeing what they want improved (processes, policies). I would take the Underscore and Explore and use it from the employee point of view as a major way to boost creativity and innovation. The folks who are in it working our systems as well as our students on a daily basis have the best understanding of what improvements are needed and how we can get this. This is not a quick fix and will take time and dedication but I know we can get there.

MGMT 7.3 Communicating In Your Organization

Again this is the perfect week for this discussion and blog! In financial aid we get a ton of questions and some of the time they do not deal directly with financial aid. Questions such as what is the tuition rate? or Will these credits transfer in? or when will my refund hit my bank account?  None of these are directly related to financial aid and the student is always frustrated when we can’t answer those questions for them. Each department has their niche and it would not be wise for other departments to speak to the expertise of said department. However, Power explained in his article that being able to communicated across an organization helps employees understand the process from start to finish. They get a better idea of the who, when, why and what of that process.

Our office is teaming up with the online advisors to do some cross training as a group in the next couple of weeks. This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time but we never were able to do so in the past, primarily because of the time factor. Not enough time and too much to do. A few of the online advisors have sat down with us to review what our processes are and I feel that it has given them a better appreciation of what we do here. It is really easy to make assumptions and blame each other when things don’t go the way we want them do or there is a miscommunication between the departments and the student.

This is the first step in working across boundaries and I want to go to the next level and involve the other departments as well. We all work on the same floor (except the advisors) so we should have an understanding how each department functions and what makes them tick. By doing this we can improve our communications as well as look at processes from a new angle which can be a good thing. Power suggests that by working together we can solve some underlying issues that we may not be seeing because we are not working together as a team.

The plan is to speak with each department and set up some cross training or possibly workshops to bring everyone together for a better perspective. So many times there are issues but they are looked at by upper management, who have not been in the mix for a long time so they miss out on the key problems. By putting the people who deal with these issues everyday together, we can help solve or suggest better ways of doing things. This would be an ongoing project not something we try once and stop once we think we figured it out.

MGMT 535 5.3 DIKA model

In my organization, especially our department, we use the D-I-K-A model almost daily as our regulations can change very quickly. Our federal regulations can change anywhere from one a month to several years. We must be diligent with our policies and federal guidelines to be in line with the department of Education.

DATA: this is a representation of reality but it can be flawed. We may not have all the data or it may be outdated so we need to make sure that all the data we have is correct. My director and I are constantly checking to make sure that all our policies are in place, our procedures are clear and concise and we are following the federal regulations completely. We have a quality assurance person who works multiple reports to ensure that we are paying our students within the federal guide lines. Occasionally we come across a regulation that has changed but we may still have outdated data.

INFORMATION: this represents the data that can provide clues and/or news that may be relevant for our job. We must make sure that we are relying on relevant information for any problems we may face within financial aid. When we face a problem with information we must assess the situation. How will this affect our students? How will it affect our department? Our organization? Recently, we came across a regulation on repeat courses. The regulation states that a student can repeat a previously passed course (D or better is passing) one time. Any failure or withdrawal doesn’t count against the student. One part of the regulation contradicts another sentence and this is where it got tricky for us. I read the regulation the way it was explained to me but my director, the manager and the counselor read the regulation to mean that a student cannot repeat the course because he had already taken the course 3 times. This is when my director and I agreed to email the Training director for our region. I explained the situation and gave him examples and he told me that I was indeed correct. This was a good exercise to ensure that we are keeping up with our regulations and we can pass that information on to our counselors.

KNOWLEDGE: this represents the framework for organizing the relationships between pieces of information. We have two types of knowledge at work here; tacit knowledge which is like the mental framework that lays just under the surface, it helps guide our decisions. Then you have explicit knowledge where you put models, formulas and rules are put into play. Tacit and explicit knowledge go hand in hand and good managers need to be ready to use both. The repeat courses policy is tacit knowledge for me because I work the repeat courses report before the start of each term. I know the regs backward and forward. Because there was a question on understanding the regs we had to rely on our explicit knowledge (using the rule of thumb) to ensure we are correct in our processes.

ACTION: this represents the decisions made based on knowledge. In financial aid we are required to take corrective action from time to time, especially when there is an update we may not have been aware of. Usually when the regulations come out each academic year, they will label it with a NEW label or a caution symbol but sometimes they aren’t labeled and we don’t realize it until we are underway in the academic year. With knowledge, comes the responsibility of taking action when needed and required. As soon as we got the answer regarding the repeat courses, I updated the policy to be more clear and concise so that there is no confusion on what the regulation is explaining.

With the D-I-K-A model, it is important to get feedback during each phase to ensure that we are on the right track. With the ACTION phase, you are putting into work all the other phases, the data collected, information we have, the knowledge used to make the model must effective.

MGMT 4.3 The Future of Lying

This was a great video about the future of lying! I remember when my daughter was little and my rule was that we shouldn’t lie because it is wrong. Then comes the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy and Santa Claus…eek. I thought about it and decided that a little white lie when it comes to the “magic” of childhood is ok but is it really? As she has gotten older, she has questioned me on Santa Claus, “mom be honest, is Santa Claus real?” to which I reply, “yes Yasmeen, there really is a Saint Nicolas.” A technicality, right? Now that she is a teenager, we have talked about social media and the importance of being honest. Facebook is huge and daily I am sure you can find someone “calling out” another on their post without coming right out and saying that the person is lying.

I am on LinkedIn and I have viewed many profiles of people I want to connect with and those that want to connect with me. What I have found is when people I connect with that I do not personally know will rate me on things like leadership, team building, IT, etc. which I find interesting because these people don’t know me at all. How can they rate my skills? Some have even sent me a message asking me to rate them since they rated me. I tend to ignore these because I would be lying if I rated them on their job skills if I had no idea what they were capable of or not capable of doing.

I have come across a couple of LinkedIn profiles where I felt my colleague was stretching the truth on what they did. It came down to how it was worded so “assisting” on a project became “led” a project. Is it considered a lie or more like being the “butler” as stated in the video. For the most part though I have found most of my colleagues are more honest on LinkedIn. On my profile I have had people suggest that I “fluff” my profile on some things to make myself more marketable. For example, I don’t work with budgeting in my department but it was suggested that I list that because I have previous experience (from about 26 years ago) but I don’t feel comfortable doing that.

Social networking though it has many advantages it is a gateway to unethical behavior from something small like lying about where you are or how good of a parent you are to being a cyberbully. It seems to be so easy to lie on social media and phone but, people are still honest when it comes to emails. Perhaps because you can really say how you feel in an email without being interrupted like you would on a phone call or via text message. I know that for me it is a lot easier to communicate via email when I need to get something off my chest.

I have become more distrusting of media and of people in general these days because it is so easy to tell a lie that lies are the new truths. Think about how fast an article or missing child post is spread on Facebook without anyone doing any research to ensure that they are sharing something that is truthful. Everyone takes everything at face value without doing their own research. My undergrad Pysch professor used to tell us. “Believe nothing, Question everything”. That is what I am trying to teach my daughter, do your research don’t be a follower just because that is what everyone else is doing. Think for yourself. Lead by example.

MGMT 535 A Story of Organizational Culture

On a recruiter trip in 2014, I was able to chat with the executive director of Enrollment Management and some other upper management. We talked about how the morale seemed to be down in EM and how we were lacking the corporate culture. The director asked me what I would do to improve morale and the culture of our area. I threw out some quick ideas and he told me that we would meet after the trip.

In that meeting I talked about how we could make little changes that would improve morale and give the employees a feeling of belonging and be appreciated. After talking about my ideas, he put me in charge of a team that I would hand pick and if I kept him in the loop about what we were doing we could do pretty much anything we wanted as long as it was within reason. I had a team of seven and we had several brain storming sessions to decide our mission statement, our values and goals and of course a name; Enrollment Culture Committee. We had monthly newsletters where employees could write articles, submit poems and drawings, as well as recipes. Each member was charged with a part of this project and we collaborated well together.

We kicked off our committee by have a breakfast where the Director talked about what the ECC was about and that he was excited for what we were going to bring to our departments. At the end of the breakfast we had so many people come up to us and tell us how excited they were to have something like this where employees who work side by side could get to know each other better. Each month we did something creative such as a Spooky Trick or Treats day where the employees could decorate their cubicles for a prize, make their favorite Halloween treats to share. At Thanksgiving we had a progressive potluck where each department was in charge of a dish such as desserts, sides, etc. At Christmas time you could see stockings hung from cubicles and everyone got into the spirit of giving by dropping in notes, cards, and little gifts to brighten someone’s day.

These things helped the culture of our departments by encouraging each department to mingle, get to know each other as well as feel comfortable enough to ask questions on the behalf of students. Morale increased significantly and we were able to start a recycling program in our building. Most employees just want to be appreciated, told they are doing a great job and given a opportunity to be able to blow off some steam so that they can rejuvenate themselves. We also had a Gear Award where an employee could nominate a peer to be recognized for going above and beyond.

Because of budget cuts, we were not able to continue with the ECC but we still host pancake breakfasts from time to time and it always makes me happy to see the smiles on our staff members and of the chance to get to know each other better. I feel it is vital to have a strong culture within any organization to let employees know they mean something to leadership. Being invested in your staff goes a long way in making everyone happy in the long run.

MGMT 535 2.3 Taking someone to lunch

This video made me think of who I would want to take to lunch to get to know better, someone who I may not see eye to eye with at work. Immediately I thought of someone who used to work in my department that, given a chance to have lunch with her, I would so that I could understand how our dynamic became so broken. First let me provide some background. Tracy started working in the financial aid office about 6 months before I did and when I came on board I was very impressed with her knowledge and when given a choice on who I wanted as an office mate I picked her. At first, everything was great, I asked questions and she seemed so willing to help me. As I became more comfortable I asked less questions and gained a lot more confidence.

After six months I went to the manager and asked for more work. I wasn’t bored at all, I just wanted to continue to learn my job and expand my student base so that I could help in more areas. This initiative that I took didn’t go unnoticed and two years after being there I was promoted to manager (four years after that, I was promoted to assistant director and then two years ago, associate director). I was thrilled and took on my new challenges head on. Everyone in the office excited about my promotion except for Tracy. In her eyes, she had been there longer therefore she should have gotten the promotion not me. To her it was all based on seniority not knowledge or ability to get the job done. Any time a new employee came on board, she made a point of telling them that she should be the one in my position. This caused some tension in the office at times.

Looking back on this now, I would have loved to have taken her to lunch. It would have been so easy to do in the early days of her disdain for my advancement in the workplace to ask her to be open and honest with how it made her feel. Was she mad that she was not promoted? Did she want to be promoted? Talking to her about what was bothering her may or may not have made a difference in how she interacted with the office and how the office interacted with her over the years. Tracy was always willing to help campuses or students; however, she became very defensive if she was told something was not done correctly on an account. She immediately shut down and no matter what was said you couldn’t convince that there was a better, easier, or correct way to work the account.

The advantages of having an open and honest dialogue with others in the workplace helps in many ways. First, it provides a sense of trust and understanding within the department. Knowing that everyone is comfortable talking to each other helps with the feeling of community. You can go to each other for help, to vent about an issue, or just talk about life in general. Second, the work environment is pleasant, everyone wants to come to work because it a place that fosters cohesiveness, empowerment, collaboration and being a part of something bigger.

It takes one person who will not or cannot be a part of the group for whatever reason, that will tear down that cohesiveness and keep a department divided. Sadly, in some cases the only way to fix this is to get rid of that person who is causing the problem. Maybe having lunch with her early on would have changed that. I know that should I come across this situation again I will not let it fester I will approach it head on with fairness, openness and communicate in a way that we both feel comfortable with.

The Meaning of Words MGMT 535 1.4 Reflection blog

I loved this TED talk for the exact fact that it was about the meaning of words. I have a tween daughter….tween. Who made up that word? Not a little kid anymore but not yet a teen: tween. She and her friends are discovering a whole new world of words, changing the meaning of those words as we know them. Take the word ship. You and I know this word as a water vessel, something that floats on water. To her and her friends, it means relationship harmony (two people you want to see together) so they would say, “I ship you and Brad.” Triggered, shook, quaking, etc., these are all words that have other meanings from what you and I know. These words describe feelings for her and her friends. It is a way for her to express herself, anger, joy, happiness it falls into these words and phrases.

Now onto the workplace. I work in financial aid and the list of commonly used jargon that we use is endless. Anyone outside of financial aid would have no clue as to what we were talking about. A typical conversation goes like this, “Anna, can you look at the EFC for this student? The FAFSA shows one thing but the awards are wonky. The COA is correct as well.” Umm what? EFC stands for estimated cost of attendance, FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid and lastly COA stands for Cost of Attendance. We throw out this jargon like it is hello and goodbye. Walk into any university financial aid office and you will hear the same words spoken. Koenig talks about how a word can give one a key to into the brain. Is the word worth knowing and understanding if it only gets us into one brain. But if it gets you into millions of brains, well then you hit the jackpot! So in financial aid, these words are our cultural norm, we understand and use them on a daily basis. It is what helps us communicate with each other.

Chapter two talks about how we use communication for multiple purposes. We can use the same language with completely different objectives in mind. Effective communicators will motivate, teach, clarify, inform, and persuade depending on the audience. This is done with words like good job, you are doing great, this is what you need to do next, help to communicate our needs and desires inside and out of the work place.

To close this out I wanted to go back to the video and the word that Koenig defined…sonder being the idea that we all think of ourselves as the main characters and everyone is just extras. I find this happens in the work place. For example, in financial aid we feel we sonder, we are the main characters and the other departments are the extras. This is not to diminish the other departments at all, it is means that we deal with so many students, campuses and advisors that we speak our own language. When we talk to the “extras” we have to make sure that we speak in a way that they can understand. It applies to management as well. We need to make sure that we are speaking the language by being active listeners, asking questions, communicating in various manners so that the message is easily understood.

Reflections on Leadership

Welcome to my MSLD Leadership Blog page

These pages were developed as part of the requirements for the Leadership Development program and reflect my growth as a leader over the last two years.


I love to blog so writing these reflection blogs were enjoyable, entertaining, and quite the learning experience. Please feel free to review any and all of my blogs! Understanding what it takes to be a great leader is an ongoing process and these reflection blogs are a great start to my life long learning. 

Annamarie Garcia

A631.9.2.RB - Video Debrief of Team MA

The Steve Jobs brainstorming video with his new team at NeXT Inc. was very interesting. The mood in the beginning of the video portrayed something that seemed to be appealing and encouraging to everyone to get the critical thinking juices flowing. In the first 30 days of the new launch of NeXT everyone is super excited to launch this new product and you can see it in their faces and hear it in their voices.  Ideas and grandiose goals are being set and it seems everyone is thrilled and ready to go. The scene moves ahead 90 days and we see a company that is not as excited and pumped up as they were at the start. The goal was to have a product to present in 18 months and yet 6 months in they still have nothing to show for it. Everyone is stressed even Steve Jobs. There is tension in the air and it seems that the finger pointing is getting under way as no one wants to take the responsibility for why there is no product yet.

Watching this video and reviewing my assessment I don’t think that I would have done very well with this type of environment in the long run as my assessment results show me being very much to the right side on the independence attributes. My aptitude to work autonomously is high so the part of the video where Jobs has everyone in the room and they throwing ideas out there I feel would probably make me crazy. I would have done well in that area but when Jobs begins to micro manage I would have bumped heads with him for sure. He seemed to become impatient and I would have felt that he didn’t want to take the time to break things down for me or hear me out on my ideas.

One of the things I noticed in the video is that Jobs seemed to interrupt people a lot when they were trying to get their ideas out.  As a leader it is important to be able to actively listen to your followers. My leadership style is diplomatic so one of my characteristics is to inform. Jobs didn’t seem to follow through in this area because he was too busy interrupting his followers to actually inform and inspire them. As the atmosphere changes the communication drops off and Jobs and the others don’t seem to have the same excitement they did in the beginning of the video.

An area that I think we would have done well with was the fact that Jobs had high goals for himself and his company. I scored highly in this area of goal ambition and goal setting as I like to set high goals for myself as it applies to my job. His drive to meet any challenge also would have worked in my favor and I would have done well in that regard. His motivation to get things done and not accept excuses is something that I feel strongly about as well so that is another level I would have fit in.  I like to motivate others as well as myself and seeing people who get excited about learning new things and adapting to change pushes me to want to go further.  

Because Jobs was starting up a company and I scored highly in the large rapid growth company, I would not have lasted very long as there would have been too many rapid changes for me to be become a vital part of his company. Though Jobs was a transformational leader his overbearing ways and need to micro mange would not have made for a work relationship in the long run for either of us.  While this environment would be good in the short term I need to be in an organization where achievement is recognized, realistic goals are set, people are empowered and inspired.

A631.8.4.RB - Reflective Analysis

I have taken the MBTI test a few times over the years and interestingly enough the only thing that has changed for the most part was the last letter Judging (J) or Perceiving (P). It would be interesting for people to take this test when they first enter college, again when they graduate and then again once they are in the workforce in order to see how much we change in how we look at people, ourselves and the way we think about both. My results this time around were ENFP which is described as:

Ø  Extroverted: enthusiastic, gregarious, sociable, and expressive

Ø  Intuitive: creative, imaginative, unconventional, and forward-thinking

Ø  Feeling: passionate, empathetic, supportive and warm

Ø  Perceiving: open-minded, spontaneous, adaptable and whimsical

This pretty much nailed my personality! Being an extrovert has really helped me to overcome my shyness as a teenager to the point where I am not shy to speak to strangers, engage them in conversation just to learn more about who they are and what makes them tick. Getting up in front a group of people large or small makes me nervous and excited not filled with dread like it does to most people.

            Over the course of this program I have become more in tune as I have learned more about whom I am as a person and how I relate to others. At one time I was more on the thinking end where I would try to suppress my feelings and stayed focused on be rational and objective. As I have gotten older I have gone more to the feeling side where I am more focused on finding cooperation and harmony and I have no fear about following my heart and being sensitive to others needs. As one who takes pride in trying not to judge others when I took this test earlier this year I earned a small percentage in Judging which I didn’t understand.  It wasn’t until I realized that I was on the border of perceiving and judging that I realized that judging was not about how you view others but in how you like to stay committed to deadlines and having clear rules and guidelines.  As I have gone through the program I have become more relaxed about deadlines (though I still like to turn things in within the deadline), and I am more willing to be open to all options understanding that the most obvious one is not always the right one.

            So how does this help me relate to others? There are not too many people that I don’t get along with and even those that I don’t relate to every well I find something in common with so that I can engage them in conversation. One of the biggest things that has helped me being an ENFP is that I tend to value each person for who they are not what group they belong to. I have no problems accepting a person’s unique characteristics and I am a pretty tolerant person. My perceptive nature makes it easy for me to understand where someone is coming from and I am able to connect with most people in some way. My friends joke that I have a story for everything meaning I find a way to relate to what I am hearing from others.

            Having this type of personality will help me out in most situations as I tend to mot be shy and I do my best to make others feel more comfortable. As a leader I know that I have to be able to adapt to other types of personalities and knowing how to work with other types will help me understand them better and for them to understand me better as well. On one website I went on to read up on the ENFP found this statement to be very true for me. “People with the ENFP personality type seem to be everywhere, even though they only form around 5 percent of the population – furthermore, they can easily get along with nearly all other personality types, which makes them ideal co-workers” (16 personalities website). A smart move for me as a leader would be to have everyone take this test so that we can all understand how to better interact with each other. Everyone learns differently and responds to their work environment differently. This doesn’t mean that I have to baby each employee but if I can figure out how each one ticks I can make sure that I am getting the best results out of my employees by making them feel more comfortable in their daily job.

            After years of working with the same group of people and trying to figure out why I had a hard time getting along with one person, we both realized that we respond completely opposite in situations. She is very introverted and I am very extroverted so right away we are on different ends of the spectrum. After learning that I have to change my approach with her and her with me, we get along much better now.  There is no secret formula to getting along with everyone as I don’t think it is possible to do all the time but if you can figure out how each person works you and they can adapt to make for a more pleasant and productive work place.

Reference:                                                          

http://www.16personalities.com/enfps-at-work

A631.7.4.RB Future of OD

What do you see as the future of the OD discipline? Throughout MSLD 630 and 631, we have studied a lot about how organizations are changing, becoming more diverse, more global, transforming in different ways.  There is a need to grow and change as our workforce changes, becomes something different, something better.  Leaders see the need to make these changes as well to keep up with the ever changing environment in order to stay ahead in the business world. Almost every chapter in the Organization Development text book starts with phrases such as ‘change’, ‘globalization’ and ‘innovation’ just to name a few. The text has emphasized the need to be able to adapt and evolve with the ever changing market. We are no longer local, we are worldwide.  It is so simple to hold meetings with employees who are in England, Asia or Spain all from the comfort of your living room or the company conference room.

Organizations who do not change and adapt will be left behind and die out in the near future.  We are learning more ways to be able to communication with each other, to work together toward a common goal. This means that managers and leaders need to be on board with making these changes for the good of the organization and the people they employ. “Managers need to understand that OD interventions have the potential to make the biggest difference in human development and bottom line performance” (Brown, 2011, p 429).

The practice of OD is also changing as new techniques and approaches are being developed and this shows that even the practice of the different areas of OD are changing and adapting as new research is conducted. Is OD right for everyone? It depends on what an organization is looking to accomplish but one thing that I have learned over these last two classes is that it is important for organizations to recognize who their leaders are, who their employees are and how to get the two to work together as a collaborative team that share the same goals and values of the organization. What is important to understand is that the purpose of OD is that it is not a quick fix, it is a long term plan that must be monitored and changed as needed to continue to grow with the organization. Some leaders will jump on anything that seems to be good enough for the company without realizing that it is not something you put a band aid on and hope that fixes it. “Unless problems are identified and solutions are systemically thought out supported by the commitment of management, the “fixes” may become another fad in a long series of fads” (Brown, 2011, p 425).

One of the things that I have found in these courses is that change is a good thing. It is all in how one approaches it and gets their organizations on board with it. You can’t come into an organization and start making changes without observing first to see where the real issues are.  You don’t stick your nose in the spreadsheets and base your changes on that alone. You have to really truly understand the culture of the organization.  What are the issues?  Where is the breakdown in communication, technology, management?  How can it be fixed?  Just because a technique worked in one organization it is not ‘one size fits all’ you need feedback from everyone within the organization.  Start at the bottom and go up, don’t just rely on the top management because most of the time they have no clue what is going on in frontlines because they are not in it working it every day.

OD practitioners are at the forefront of change.  Some of the future trends of OD are Organization Transformation (OT), empowerment, learning organizations and organization architecture (Brown, 2011). OD practices are here to stay as they have made some great impacts to date.  With anything, the more it is studied and tweaked to fit in with the changes in the globalization the better it will become. Even the best companies have their issues from time to time and being able to recognize it and fix is the first step in the right direction. The future of OD as Brown explains, “The course of change anticipated for OD will predominately surround the issues of a changing workforce, global competence, and transformation within the organization” (Brown, 2011, p 429). I personally cannot wait to see what is in store for me when I am done with this program and how I can take what I learned and make a difference in the workforce.  I know it takes someone who can see the potential, the positive side and vision of where an organization can go.

Reference:

Brown, D.R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

A631.6.4.RB - Transformational Strategies

Watching both of these gentlemen, Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale and Stanley McChrystal, I was inspired and motivated by what that they each had to say. They didn’t sit back and let changes overcome them, they took the change “by the horns” and did their best to adapt and get their followers on board as well.  In the first video I watched about Gallery furniture I was impressed with Jim’s drive to want to make changes the right way.  “I could do as much blubbering, cajoling, screaming, and hollering as I wanted to try to get my team to change behavior, but I knew it wouldn’t get us where we needed to go,” says McIngvale. “I was looking for a process that would get my people to want to change their behavior and act in ways that give the customers what they’re looking for” (McIngvale, VitalSmarts website).

When the housing market dropped drastically in 2008 Gallery Furniture was affected along with many other companies. In 2009 the company suffered another blow when their store had a fire that caused $30 million in damage. He knew he had to do something and do it quickly.  They needed innovation and they needed it now. After reading a review in the Wall Street Journal McIngvale knew that Influencer would be the one to help.  He wanted to be influenced on change and how he could do that with his employees. After getting training for him and management he made sure that everyone in his company from the furniture loaders, drivers and sales team got the same training.

One of the biggest challenges McIngvale faced was changing a 30 year sales process that involved two big changes in how they conducted business including changing the “how can I help you” to “I am disappointed you are not going to buy anything” and becoming prospectors instead of sales people so that they could follow up with the customers who didn’t buy right away.  This way they can touch base and hopefully bring them back in at a later date to purchase furniture. He also implemented a wellness program to bring a great work-life balance to the employees.  One of the things I thought was interesting was that McIngvale put a bell up so that each time a team member got a sale they could ring the bell and the other team members could encourage and congratulate them. He also made sure that all members were taught how to use technology as he felt it was important that everyone was brought up to date.

This ties into the chapter and showing the strength of corporate culture as well as figure 15.4 that reflects members’ commitment to values and shared values as being high (a good thing).  “The more members share the basic values and the greater their commitment to them, the stronger the culture” (Brown, 2011).  I was impressed that McIngvale was open to change and willing to do whatever it took to bring his company where it needed to be. It also goes along with figure 15.5 in the Manage the Change quadrant where change is important to the organization and they are compatible to the existing culture of the company which makes it easier to move forward with major changes using the power of the cultural acceptance (Brown, 2011).

In the video, Listen, Learn…then Lead, Stanley McChrystal did an amazing job of explaining how leadership has changed through his years in the military and what that meant to him as a leader and those that he led. McChrystal walked us through a jump touching on things he had been taught when he was first starting out and watching those young men and women around him performing the same skills exactly the way he himself had been taught. “And I realized that, if they had to go into combat, they would do what we had taught them and they would follow leaders. And I realized that, if they came out of combat, it would be because we led them well” (McChrystal, TedTalks 2011).

With so many changes in the way people communicate, he had to learn how to do this on many different levels.  Making sure all the key leaders are on the same page and understand what is at stake is not easy when your leaders are spread out in different parts of the country.  The thing that stuck out for me was that he mentioned how different it was not be able to look into the leaders eyes to build their confidence and get that trust back from them to know that they understood what they needed to do and that they would do it with success.  This required different techniques. “I've got to use video teleconferences, I've got to use chat, I've got to use email, I've got to use phone calls -- I've got to use everything I can, not just for communication, but for leadership” (McChrystal, TedTalks, 2011).

He realized that he was dealing with a new type of leadership here.  Not one of eye to eye contact, a hand on the shoulder for support, the ability to build that trust and confidence that is so vital for what they do.  Leadership, no matter the age or gender of the person leading change, must have a shared purpose. McChrystal pointed out that you have to become more transparent, be more willing to listen and to be “reverse-mentored” from the bottom.

One of the statements he made that really stood out for me was this, “I came to believe that a leader isn't good because they're right; they're good because they're willing to learn and to trust” (McChrystal, TedTalks, 2011). This is so important for leaders to keep in mind that being good doesn’t always mean you are right, it is about making mistakes and being able to learn from them and trusting your followers and them being able to trust you.  These also tie into both figures on the text when it comes to strategy and culture.  “Implementing strategic changes can be done more effectively when the culture of the organization is taken into consideration” (Brown, 2011).  This is a big part of what McChrystal was talking about, taking the culture (the leaders, location, and mission) into consideration when making changes. Both videos showed how leaders can make changes for the better during transformational change and I know that I have learned a lot from both of these videos.

References:

Brown, D.R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.).Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

http://www.vitalsmarts.com/casestudies/gallery-furniture/

http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal.html

A631.5.4.RB - Leading System Wide Change

I have seen a few people who have ‘risen’ to positions of power and how much it changed them and not for the better.  People, who as the frontline workers were excited and willing to help others out, who wanted more ‘power for the people’ and who knew they could do something better for their department and organization if they were just given the chance to do so.  They had strong work ethic and still do however the power has gone to their head.  They treat their frontline people like morons who can’t be trusted with simple tasks and they do not hide it either. Instead of honing their skills by working with individuals and teams which benefits everyone they turned into the type of boss that they as frontline people didn’t like.  They lead like dictators where it is their way or no way, there is no room to ask questions or bring ideas to the table.

The Apple video, Think Differently, you hear words like, “rebels”, “trouble makers” and “ones who see things differently” all things that have led to change for the better.  Without these kinds of people we would not see, hear, or do all the amazing things we do in our personal lives as well as the business world.  This video made me think immediately of a person who has led change in a positive way.   This person, who started at the bottom and worked his way to the top while being able to adapt to his environment, never lost sight of continuing to learn from his surroundings and the people he worked with and for.  My former director is the type of person who has made me want to be a leader.  A truly great leader.   His compassion for others as well as being able to get along with everyone while exhibiting emotional intelligence speaks volumes for the type of person he is. He was able to bring our department from the bottom to the top within 5 years while making changes that has helped streamline our processes and turnaround times for most of what we do.

So what is required for a leader to be successful?  Thinking back to how my former director got to where he is now I have come up with a list.  This doesn’t include everything possible of course but I feel that it is a great start to making sure that I will be successful:

·         Open communication: being able to get your vision across to everyone in your department.  It may make perfect sense to you but if your subordinates don’t get it then you are not being clear and concise.

·         Honesty: holding yourself and your team to a higher standard, being ethical and true to yourself and others.  Being able to admit when you are wrong.  Lead by example, if you are leaving early every day your team will think that is ok to do as well so maintain value and integrity.

·         Don’t give yourself a label: a title doesn’t mean anything at the end of the day so why try to be better than everyone else.  You are still the same person when you walk out of the office so don’t throw your title around.  You need to be willing to roll up your sleeves and get dirty just like everyone else.

·         Positive attitude: when times get tough your team looks to you and if they see you fall apart so will they.  They want someone who will be level headed and steady when tensions are high.  Don’t berate your team but instead encourage them to new levels.

·         Have a sense of humor: make work a place that they want to come to.  It doesn’t need to be party central but if you can show your team that mistakes happen and find the humor in it by making light of your mistakes (minor of course major ones may not be a laughing matter) and not getting so upset by it you are showing them that we are all human.

·         Active listening: this I have found so very important.  Everyone can listen but it takes more effort to actively listen to what your team is saying.  Be ready to open your ears and shut your mouth.  You may learn a lot this way.

·         Commitment: not only to your team but to yourself and your job.  Lead by example by being the leader your followers want to be around and learn from.

·         Lead and follow: being able to lead as well as follow is vital to being a great leader.  A wise person once told me that a good leader is one who knows how to step back and let others shine.  Give your team credit always, don’t reserve it for yourself.

Being successful requires all these skills and then some.  I know that it is important to be open and willing to adapt and change as needed.  Not every day is going to go as planned, there will be good ones, there will be bad ones but learning from these days will help me become better not only as leader but as a person.

A631.4.4.RB - INSEAD Reflection

More and more organizations are starting to use self-managed teams as they become more flat.  This puts more emphasis on teams being more self-managing.  A self-manage work team is “autonomous group whose members decide how to handle their task” (Brown, 2011, p 349). There are many benefits of self-managed teams as such creating a sense of vision for the team and the organization.  It also creates a strong partnership between the team and management and encourages authority and accountability for the team members.  There is diversity among team members and they all bring something different to the table which reflects in their skill and knowledge for each member.  Team members feel empowered to make decisions that will positively the organization for the better. Being a part of a self-managed team means working together while encouraging and meeting the challenges as a team to work through any issues to create a stronger group effort. They share the same vision for the team and the organization and show strong commitment to the team.

There are also so drawbacks to self-managed teams especially if the team is not sure of their assigned roles because there is a lack of leadership in guiding the team in the right direction.  If there is a lack of training with self-managed teams they may very well fail because this training was not provided.  Another drawback is that there may not a need for teams because it is not appropriate to the task, people or context. Disagreements can be an issue if they are not worked through completely where everyone comes to an agreement.  Working as a team means able to work through problems and find a common ground to collaborate as one.

I prefer working on a self-managed team and actually do in my current job.  When you are given the authority to make decisions and work together for the same common goal it makes you feel like you are a part of something bigger. There is no one standing over your shoulder making sure you are doing your job.  Because we are all trained and understand our jobs we can perform with little or no supervision. We are starting to work on cross training so that we can all perform most of each other’s jobs. There is one drawback however and that has to do with the security assigned to certain screens in our system but we feel it is important that each team member understands all the roles within our department.  It also helps us to understand how all aspects of the jobs within financial aid work.  We all work at our own pace and decide what our priorities are for the day without having to run that past the director.  When we need help we rely on each other to work through the issues and come to a mutual consensus.  

To be an effective external manager of a self-managed work team I would want to make sure that I am there to help my team achieve their goals while continuing to build on their professional development and training. This will include motivating and coaching them while not micromanaging them.  I will be sure to encourage and empower them while providing all the needed tools to ensure their success.  Some things that are vital to this are to have open communication, filling in any skill gaps, and having a plan to keep it simple and clear. I know that I will need to be ready to listen, motivate and implement changes as needed.

Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall

A631.3.4.RB - Feedback and Goals

In our text Brown stated, “In contrast, giving feedback on performance without having previously set goals does not lead to improved performance” (Brown, 2011, p 321). This made me think of when I was the cheerleading coach many years ago for Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. I was young and had never led a team before so I was learning as I went.  As the coach I had no formal training and had to figure it out along the way.  It was my second year of coaching and we were at the end of the season and I wrote up a survey to give out to the cheerleaders as I wanted to get some feedback on how I was doing, what was good, what was bad. 

That survey was a huge eye opener for me!  It was both positive and negative feedback but mostly negative.  I was shocked and taken aback by how they felt about me and my coaching style.  It was a hard lesson to learn but one that was needed.  They provided me with feedback as well as suggestions on how to make things better. I spent the summer thinking of ways to improve how I approached my cheerleaders and I also set some goals for us to obtain by the end of the next year.  It was obvious to the cheerleaders coming back that I took their suggestions and criticisms to heart to make the program so much better for both them and for me.  This was the start of really taking feedback both good and bad and learning from it.

I found Brown’s opinion on generational differences in the amount of feedback desired by employees to be interesting. He stated, “Eighty five percent of younger workers wanted frequent and candid performance feedback compared to only 50 percent for older workers” (Brown, 2011, p 322).  Part of this goes back to how much more interaction there is these days between managers and subordinates.  There is more communication from both sides and it is mostly encouraged.  In my department, our older employees seek feedback almost more than the younger employees.  A part of this I believe is that the younger employees grew up with these technologies such as the internet and smart devices so they have more confidence in that area whereas the older employees don’t have the same confidence so they want more feedback on how they are doing in certain areas.  They want this feedback from their managers and not so much from their coworkers.  The younger employees tend to ask how they are doing and what they can do better.  I like that they have the drive to want to improve their skills and they take criticism well for the most part.  

Giving feedback is important in order for one to improve and learn from these lessons.  The same goes for getting feedback, it is the only way to grow and understand how to be better.  In the article, 6 Steps to Setting Goals that Improve Performance, they explain 6 steps that can help one improve their performance by setting goals and these include 1) setting clear, reasonable goals, 2) identifies the behaviors that are critical for performance, 3) establishing potential rewards and discipline, 4) continuing to develop abilities to enhance performance, 5) getting accurate, timely feedback and 6) administering rewards as promised and celebrate a job well done.  When giving feedback these goals are good to keep in mind.  You can help your employees improve by getting them to set goals that they can attain that will push and challenge them as well. When I give feedback I try to put myself in the other person’s shoes and ask myself what I would to know.  So when I give feedback I take a positive approach.  What was done well?  How was the issue approached?  What could be done to improve?  Is there a better, easier, faster way to get the same or better results?  These questions are ones I keep in mind when giving my feedback.  This works for my professionally and personally.  

I know for me personally I like to have specific goals and getting feedback that will help me become more engaged, improve my performance and overall help me learn more about myself and how I can make changes for the better. I have to say that there are a few drawbacks to setting specific goals and that is personal disappointment.  What if I can’t reach my goal or I don’t do a good job in getting to my goals. This could cause unneeded stress that is not necessary.  From this I can take that I have to continue to set goals that will push me, challenge me and make me a better person.  I will not always reach my initial goals but when I don’t I know that I can learn from what kept me from those goals and move forward from it as a better person.

References:

Brown, D.R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.).Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

Shake off the grind (2010, September 9). 6 Steps to Setting Goals that Improve Performance | Shake Off the Grind. Retrieved from http://shakeoffthegrind.com/extraordinary-goals/6-steps-to-setting-goals-that-improve-performance

A631.2.5.RB - Cooperation and Competition

Over the course of this program I have learned a lot about working on teams.  At first, I groaned about this as I had my own assumptions as to how it work or not work.  Instead of looking at the positive I focused on the negative aspects of team work. For every team I have been a part of I had no real issues other than dealing with a very aggressive member in one class and a lack of participation from two members in another class.  These experiences have actually taught me about group dynamics and how to better work with teams. This is the first group where we have had 5 members. I feel that this could be an advantage but it could also hinder us. Too many members could cause more conflict; too few members could lack the needed cohesion for the team to succeed.

Most of us have worked together on the same team prior to this class so we knew from the start that we would be successful because we have learned to communicate well. One of the things that have helped us to complete our task is to be active in the group discussion board.  This means checking in every couple of days, asking questions, providing help where it is needed. This gives accountability to each member and if we have to nudge the other members we can do it in a constructive way. We all seem to have the same thoughts on expectations and what we expect from our learning experiences here. Of course there is advantage to having some of your team members in the same building!  I can walk over to the other members and throw out thoughts and get real time feedback from them.

With any group there will be times where someone doesn’t agree with what the lead person has in mind and even with communication on the discussion board, the message can get lost as tone cannot be conveyed through here. Everyone approaches decision-making or problem-solving differently so it is important that we try to avoid conflict if possible. However if that is not possible we must be able to manage conflict constructively by using compromising and integrating styles. The charter is pretty straight forward and there are not really any factors that inhibit the process or time needed to get it done.  Everyone submitted their parts pretty quickly as we have all done this in previous classes.

As a team we are all on the same page with how we share information which is mostly through the discussion board with email follow up as needed.  A few of us have already taken the lead on projects we want to do for the class so we are off to a great start.  At this point there are no real issues with authority or power that would affect our team.  It is possible that it may happen in some of the later projects however I feel confident that we will be able to work through those issues and remain cohesive.  As a team reading over the charter I can see that we will be able to collaborate well in order to influence a great outcome to our projects.  I do think that it would be interesting to ask these types of questions in some of the other projects that are more time consuming and more detail oriented where the chances of conflict and competition will most likely occur. This way we could get a better idea of different challenges there are and how we dealt with differences and still managed to get the project done in a timely manner.

A631.1.5.RB - EcoSeagate

After reading the OD Application: EcoSeagate and Team Development and watching both videos I was so pumped up by how well the teams managed to work together.  The power of teams collaborating and working together to reach a common goal outside of the work area showed with how enthusiastic they were and how into it they all were.    The singing and growling, the dancing…. they did it together!  No one was complaining or trying to take the credit they were like family.  They moved like one and I am sure that there were many friendships to come out of this exercise.  I definitely can see the value of the team development process with EcoSeagate especially when the CEO Bill Watkins came on board.  He could see that something needed to change.  People were fired all the time and the CEO had a grenade on his desk so what kind of message was he sending to his employees?  

Bringing people together has so many benefits when developing teams.  In the text they talk about sports teams and how well they must work together.  We must be able to work together similar to a basketball team or a dance troupe.  Everyone needs to know their part, when they must move, how their part interconnects with the other teammates or dancers and that when they practice (a form of communicating) by going through drills or with the music they can trust each other to be there.  When the dancers first come together they do not know the dance so they must watch the instructor so they know what they are doing.  They must listen to the music for their ques so that they know when to perform each step.  As they learn the dance, some will pick it up quickly while others will need more time.  This is where the other dancers AKA team members will come in handy.  They will assist and coach until everyone has it done perfectly.  They are working as a team to accomplish a task by solving problems (getting everyone on the same page with the dance) and improving to reach a common goal (win the basketball game or get high marks for a performance).

In the videos they talked about the importance of being able to get comfortable with conflict to not be afraid of it.  Working together can force teams to be able to get comfortable with conflict and being able to tell your teammate that an idea is not good and them not getting upset by it.  This will help to open up the channels of communication.  They also talked about how bringing people from different backgrounds helps one learn to appreciate each other’s differences.  This can work to a team’s advantage because you can use the diversity of the group to bring it together to get reach the common goal.

I definitely think my organization could benefit from a similar activity.  I also believe it would be a way to weed out those who are not team players and who are not interested in learning and growing with the organization.  While it may not seem like a big deal if everyone doesn’t want to be a part of a team or participate in team building exercises it really does hurt the organization as a whole.  Of course that is not the point of doing this kind of activity, to weed out the ones who don’t want to be team players but it will become apparent pretty quickly. We don’t have to do a zip line or brave the rapids but forcing people to step outside their comfort zone can get them to open up and become more comfortable with conflict and dealing with it in a better way.  We can even do something like a field day where we are teamed up randomly so that we can get the full learning experience and bond with people we may not have thought twice about talking to before.  My department will be doing a retreat in a few weeks and one of the main things we are going to do is take a self-defense class where we will learn not only self-defense but also the importance of team building.  We don’t get to go on many retreats and this one will be the first one where we actually have to be part of a team and I think it will really bring our department together and make us more cohesive.  Perhaps it can also help us in dealing with conflict in a more constructive way.

A630.9.4.RB - Hiring and Recruiting

In the video Schmidt talks about how important it is to develop the culture of your company and I think he is so right about this!  Proof of this is Google which has a great culture within their company and it shows in all the great things that they have created.  He talked about having passion and drive to do what you love to do.  When you walk into any kind of business you can see right away the people who are happy to be a part of that company and the ones who are only there to collect a pay check.  Throughout this course we have talked about culture and the importance of having it and Schmidt explains this when he talks about Google.

He mentions how time has been spent on passion, academic qualifications, commitment and intellectual flexibility and I agree that these are very important to the culture of a company. I will say that while I understand the academic qualifications, sometimes a book cannot teach us what happens in the real world so if that is the only thing that keeps a person from being hired and they have all the other aspects, they should be hired because you can mold them and teach them so much more than they could learn from a book.

When I first started at ERAU Worldwide I had no financial aid experience but I had everything else (drive, passion, and academic qualifications) so my old director took a chance on me and 5 years later I am a manager and I have learned so much more than I ever thought I would but there is so much more to learn as well and this is the drive and passion I have with my job.  I want to learn and grow and I feel that is something that is vital to the culture of any company.  People who want to learn to explore what their organization can give them and how far it can take them.  I continue to ask questions  as well as go to conferences and absorb everything I can not only on the regulations but how it affects our students and our counselors.

One of the things Schmidt mentioned that stuck out for me was hiring people who are compatible with other people.  I know from personal experiences when sitting in on the interview process we look for the type of people who will fit in with our department.  Are they outgoing?  Do they take criticism well?  Are they drama free?  We have many different types of personalities and if we drop in a person who creates friction and drama it would upset the balance we have. 

Now our department is not perfect but we do work well together and anyone who comes in has to be able to fit in and deal with the idiosyncrasies (people who hum and talk to themselves, people who like to keep to themselves for the most part, people who are very outspoken, etc.).   When we interview potential employees we will bring in the other counselors and let them ask questions.  I like to watch the nonverbal ques between the interviewee and the counselors to see how they interact.  This way I can see if there is potential for friction within our group.  It is wise to choose the right person who will add to the department not cause problems.

As a leader we may not always be able to make everyone happy and we must be aware of how our employees are feeling and truly listen to their concerns.  Making sure everyone works together is vital to the success of interpersonal relationships and as well as how your team works together.  If you have a great team who can get their work done and done well, jump in and help their coworkers and work through problems without having to go to the boss, there not much management needed because they are already doing it.  You are there to guide and encourage and challenge them to the next level.  For me a great leader is one who wants you to succeed and move to the next level whether it is in that department or somewhere else in the organization.

One point that Schmidt made that I thought was interesting was about discord at meetings.  I think it would be interesting but I feel that it could backfire if not done carefully.  If you are trying to get your employees to speak up at meetings especially if they are quiet or concerned about an issue they may not want to speak up at a meeting for fear of looking dumb or that they should already know the answer.  Maybe a round table where everyone can throw out their ideas so it can be bounced off of the group because this can bring out the best in the group.

 No this won’t always work but I think if you make everyone understand how it will help them grow and learn it is a step in the right direction.  I can definitely apply these things in my job now and feel that having a clear idea of what kind of culture you want in your organization is important not only in how you do this but how you support it.  We have a retreat coming up and I want to bring up to my director that we need to get everyone’s input on what they think the culture of our department is and how we can improve it.